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THE 



SCOTISH GAEL; 

OR, 

(STrltlc JHatnnetJSs/ 

AS PRESERVED AMONG THE HIGHLANDERS, 

BEING AN HISTORICAL AND DESCRIPTIVE ACCOUNT OF THE 

INHABITANTS, ANTIQUITIES, AND NATIONAL PECULIARITIES 

OF SCOTLAND; 

MORE PARTICULARLY OP THE NORTHERN, OR GAELIC PARTS OF THE COUNTRY, WHERE THS 
SINGULAR HABITS OF THE ABORIGINAL CELTS ARE MOST TENACIOUSLY RETAINED . 



BY JAMES LOGAN, 

FELLOW OF THE SOCIETY OF ANTIQUARIES OF SCOTLAND. 



** The most interesting and important of all history is tlie history of manners." 

WARTOS 

FIFTH AMERICAN EDITION. 




^^ 



HARTFORD: 
S ANDRUS AND SON. 

1850. 



i'g'SD 



TO 
HIS MOST EXCELLENT MAJESTY, 

l¥IIiIiIA]?I IT., 

KING OF GREAT BRITAIN AND IRELAND 

Sfc. Sfc. Sfc. 

SIRE, 

It is with the deepest gratitude for so distinguished an honor, 
that I presume to lay these Researches at Your Majesty's feet. 

The Work relates to a people who have greatly contributed to 
raise the renown of Your Majesty's arms to the pre-eminence they 
have attained. The history and character of that people, therefore, 
deserve the attention of every Patriot; and your subjects. Sire, feel a 
just pride in being able to call your Majesty a Patriot King. 

That Your Majesty's reign may be long and happy, must be 
the ardent wish of every Briton; and I can say for my countrymen, in 
particular, that none are more devotedly attached to Your Majesty's 
Person and Family; and that no portion of Your Majesty's Subjects 
would more cheerfully venture their lives for the honor and defence 

p. 

of their beloved Sovereign, and for the support of the Constitution 
under which they enjoy so many blessings. For myself, I rejoice in 
being so highly favored as to be graciously permitted this public oppor- 
tunity of expressing the profound respect with which 

I am, 

SIRE, 

Your Majesty's 
Most devoted and most humble 
Subject and Servant, 

JAMES LOGAN. 



Hist of 32ttrt)0Uis!)mfnts 



L Hignland Chiefs, (copper-plate) Frontispiece. 

2. Ensign of Scotland, (Vignette) Title-page. 

3. Bas Relief, from Trajan's Column Page 19 
4 An Ancient Briton . . - - 39 

5. A curious inscribed Obelisk - - - 62 

6. A remarkable Cromleach - - - 63 

7. Various Stone and Metal Implements - 72 

8 to 12. Figures illustrating the various an- 
cient modes of dressing the Hair 38, 73, 84, 
85, 101 

13. Tinwald, in the Isle of Man - - 102 

14. TheBass of Inverury - - - - 146 

15. Stone Circle at Tyrebachar - 150 

16. A Gallic Female and Celtiberian - - 151 

17. Fragment of a Gallic Mercury - - 152 

18. Bonnets and Purses, (copper-plate) - 177 



19. A Silver ornamented Brooch - - 180 

20. Small Antique ditto - - - - 184 

21 . Target, Helmet, and various Weapons 185 

22. Helmets of different forms - - - 187 

23. Highland Targets, (copper-plate) - 190 

24. Shields of various Celtic Auxiliaries in the 

Roman service, (copper-plate) - 195 

25. Clubs used in war by the old Britons - 202 
2G. Stone Weapons, (copper-plate) - • 203 
27, 28. Lochaber Axes - - - 204 

29. Spears and other Weapons - - - 207 

30. Ancient British Sword - - - 208 

Jl. Two-handed, and Broad Sword - - 213 

32. An ancient Dirk, and Sheath with Knife 

and Fork - - - - 219 



33. A Curious Belt .... Pagt 219 

34. A Highland Pistol ... - 238 

35. Plan of a Caledonian Fortress - - 244 

36. Trophy, composed of Highland Anns and 

Dress ..---- 253 

37. Viewof Dun-Troddan inGlenelg - 254 

38. Section of Mousa and Dun-Dornghil - 26S 

39. Do. showing the Galleries - - - 263 

40. View of Dun-Dornghil in Strathmore - 269 

41. Bas Relief of a Gallic Boar Hunt - 270 

42. Horns of the Moose Deer - - - 284 

43. Highlander employed at the Cascrom 285 

44. Agricultural Implements - - - 315 

45. Domestic Utensils ... - 316 

46. Snuff Horn and its Appendages - - 360 

47. An Ancient Biorlin - - - - 361 
48, 49. British Coins . . - - 368, 369 

50. Funeral Urn and other Vessels - - 380 

51. Figures of two Druids - - - - 381 
52 to 55. Specimens of Music - - - 413 
56. The Royal Arms of Scotland, (copper- 



plate) 

57. Reeds of the Bagpipe 

58. Harp of Queen Mary - 

59. Stonehenge restored 



433 
434 
445 
446 



60. Plan of the Temple at Classerness in Lt .vis 489 
01. Obelisk, with Hieroglyphic Sculptures 490 

62. Mystical Figure - - - - 497 

63. Illuminated Capital, from a Gaelic MS. 500 

64. Tartan of H. R. H. the Duke of Sussex, 

(copper-plate) - - - oOO 



CONTENTS. 



INTRODUCTION. 

OBJECT OF THE PRESENT WORK AND ACCOUNT OF ITS FORMATION, 

WITH SOME NOTICE OF ANCIENT HISTORICAL ANNALS, &C. - 7 

CHAPTER I. 

OF THE CELTIC RACE, COMPOSING THE VARIOUS NATIONS THAT 

FORMERLY INHABITED EUROPE ------ 19 

CHAPTER II. 

BRITAIN THF. ORIGIN OF ITS ANCIENT INHABITANTS HISTORI- 
CALLY DEDUCED -------- 39 

CHAPTER III. 

APPEARANCE OF THE COUNTRY EXTENT AND PRODUCTIONS OF 

THE ABORIGINAL FORESTS ------ 69 



CHAPTER IV. 

CELTIC POPULATIOX PERSONS AND DISPOSITIONS OF THE CELTS 

THEIR MILITARY EDUCATION AND INSTITUTIONS ANEC- 
DOTES OF THEIR BRAVERY AND HEROISM EXPLOITS OF THE 

ANCIENT CALEDONIANS AND PRESENT SCOTS - - - 73 

CHAPTER V. 

CUSTOMS IN WAR AND MILITARY TACTICS - - _ _ IQS 

CHAPTER VI. 

ON THE DRESS OF THE ANCIENT CELTS, AND COSTUME OF THE 

PRESENT GAEL -_---___ J^J 



6 CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER VII. 

Page 

OP THE ARMS AND MILITARY ACCOUTREMENTS OF THE CELTS - 186 

CHAPTER VIII 

OF THE ARCHITECTURE OF THE CELTS ----- 254 

CHAPTER IX. 

OF ANIMALS, AND THE MANNER OF HUNTING - - - - 270 

CHAPTER X. 

OF THE PASTORAL STATE AND OF AGRICULTURE - - - 285 

CHAPTER XL 

OF THE FOOD OF THE CELTS THEIR COOKERY, LIQUORS, MEDICI- 
NAL KNOWLEDGE, HEALTH, AND LONGEVITY - - _ 316 

CHAPTER XII. 

OF THE SHIPPING, COMMERCE, MONEY, AND MANUFACTURES OF 

THE CELTS -------- 361 

CHAPTER XIII. 

POETRY AND MUSIC - - - - - - - -381 

CHAPTER XIV. 

RELIGION, MARRIAGE CEREMONIES, AND FUNERAL RITES - « 446 

CHAPTER XV. 

OF THE KNOWLEDGE OF LETTERS AMONG THE CELTS - 490 

APPENDIX. 

TABLE OF CLAN TARTANS ----- - 501 

INDEX -_.-------- 509 



INTRODUCTION. 



OBJECT OF THE PRESENT WORK, AND ACCOUNT OF ITS FOR 
MATION, WITH SOME NOTICE OF ANCIENT HISTORICAL 
ANNALS, &c. 

The Scots' Highlanders are the unmixed descendants of the Celts, 
who were the aboriginal inhabitants of Europe, and the first known colo- 
nists of Britain. Slowly following the progress of refinement, and assim 
ilating with their neighbors, it may soon be matter of unavailing regret, 
that their language, their singular manners, and peculiar customs, will 
have become extinct and unknown, save in the traditions of the people 
or the partial records of the historian. 

This race, which for so many ages preserved inviolate its Celtic prin- 
ciples and original habits, has already yielded to the powerful advance of 
modern civilisation, and has apparently lost more of its distinctive fea- 
tures within the last century, than during all the previous lapse of time, 
from its first settlement in Britain. Tenaciously retaining their prim- 
itive language, social institutions, and established usages, and inhabiting 
a romantic and picturesque country, in which they so long preserved 
their independence, the Gael and their territories have become the ob- 
jects of much curiosity, and the prominent place which they occupy in 
the national annals, heightens the interest which Scotland has so much 
excited. 

After the union of the two kingdoms there was, indeed, a long period 
of indifference towards this country, and of consequent ignorance of its 
moral and political state, but emerging from this situation of apparent 
insignificance, it was destined to attract peculiar regard, and every thing 
relating to it became an object of the liveliest attention. Various caus- 
es contributed to effect this change. The rebellions of 1715 and 1745 
forced on government the necessity of paying more attention to this part 
of the kingdom, more particularly to the Highlands, where the conse- 
quences of the battle of Culloden proved that, even at that late period, 
the Gael were deemed unworthy of regard, as members of the empire, no 
laws being thought applicable to them on the suppression of the rebel- 
lion, but those which were given by a brigade.* It was soon, however, 

* Culloden Papers. 



8 INTRODUCTIOIS. 

perceived, that from the mountains of Scotland could be drawn an inex 
haustible supply of the best soldiers in Europe, and government quickly 
availed itself of a resource so invaluable. Those who represented the 
exiled chiefs from the period of the forfeiture of their estates, until the 
act of grace restored their lands, and permitted them to return to their 
country, with that hereditary authority, which could not, while the spirit 
of clanship animated the people, be dissolved or impaired, many of them, 
without any other income than what was supplied by the benevolence of 
the clan, were able to raise numerous battalions, with whom they glori- 
ously fought in support of that constitution which a principle of honor, 
mistaken loyalty, and the intrigues of France, had so lately led them to 
endeavor to subvert. 

The most interesting part of the Scots' nation is the Highlanders, the 
descendants of the aboriginal Celts, who signalized themselves by a de- 
termined and effectual resistance, to the utmost efforts of the Romans, 
who had subdued the inhabitants of the Southern provinces. The nature 
of their country, wild and mountainous, protected by natural bulwarks, 
within which, fear and prudence would equally prevent intrusion, and 
which opposing a barrier to free communication with other parts, served 
to preserve them for so many ages as a distinct and independent people. 
Their simple patriarchal manners and government did not lead to much 
intercourse with strangers, and, except cattle, there was little produce 
of their country, the disposal of which would have brought them into 
contact with others. Their habit* led to no wants which could not be 
supplied within themselves. The sea, and numerous lakes and rivers, 
afforded an abundance of fish, the woods and mountains a variety of 
fowl and venison, and those who attempted agriculture found the valleys 
highly productive. Thus secluded, their traditions and songs celebra 
ted the exploits of their own nation, and the locality of description 
fostered the spirit of independence, the lofty notions of their own un- 
conquered race, and jealous pride of ancestry, so remarkable in the 
Highlanders. Hence they tenaciously preserved their primitive institu- 
tions, their costume, language, poetry, music, &c., and remained for 
many ages little known to the rest of the kingdom. The more Southern 
Scots were, indeed, aware of their existence. The troops and hosts of 
hardy warriors that often swelled the armies of the king, and were some- 
times brought down in hostility to his authority, apprized their country- 
men that they were a considerable people. The fierce and overwhelm- 
ing forays that necessity or revenge impelled them to make on the plains, 
informed their Lowland neighbors, in a more unpleasant way, of their 
vicinity to powerful tribes of different habits, and living under peculiar 
laws. The civil wars which they had at different times maintained on 
behalf of the Stewarts, kept alive the recollection of their existence, but 
it was not until after the remarkable events of 1745-6, that the Northern 
part of Britain became an object of serious attention to the ministry, and 
of much curiosity to all. This interest, at first chiefly arising from» po- 



INTRODUCTION. 9 

litical causes, and the situation of the country, was not at that time well 
calculated to produce a favorable or unprejudiced view. The High- 
landers were even at this period deemed little better than savages. The 
moderation and orderly conduct of the army of Prince Charles during 
its success, and the bravery and humanity displayed throughout the 
affair, that might have vindicated their character from such injustice, 
were forgotten in the stigma of audacious rebellion. The consequent 
abolition of the system of government so conducive to their indepen- 
dence, brought them under more particular notice and observation. The 
suppression of heritable jurisdictions, the previous formation of the mili- 
tary roads, and acts for disarming the people and discharging the servi- 
ces of watching, warding, hosting, and hunting, opened the Highlands 
to the investigation of the curious, and broke down the chief obstacle 
to the mixture of the inhabitants in other society — the safeguard against 
the intrusion of strangers, and the great protection for their primitive 
simplicity of character. 

The Gael, who had before this time been so little known, even to 
many of the more Southern Lowlanders, leaving their native hills, dif- 
fused a more intimate knowledge of themselves and their country, and 
by their abilities displayed in the various situations of life, have shown 
themselves equal to the natives of any portion of the kingdom, and 
worthy of the respectable station which they have acquired in society. 
With the loss of much of their distinctive character, they have had but 
too many opportunities of showing that their military ard©r and prowess 
are yet unimpaired. All Europe has admired the achievements of the 
Scots' troops, and in the late war they " covered themselves with glory." 

The history and antiquities of so singular a people opened a copious 
source of speculation and literary discussion, and the subject could not 
fail to be generally interesting. The publication of several works gave 
a stimulus to research, and excited the critical acumen of many writers. 
The proud and high-minded Highlanders repelled with indignation the 
slights they received, and the attacks that were so unceremoniously 
made upon almost every thing which they valued as national. Unfortu- 
nately, an acrimonious spirit in which some writers indulged begat an 
animosity but ill suited to calm inquiry. Abuse and recrimination took 
the place of serious investigation. The elucidation of historical truth 
was either altogether put aside, or made subservient to the defeat of an 
opponent, by turning his cause into ridicule; and thus both parties have 
sacrificed much of the weight that would otherwise have attached to 
their arguments. While facts were obscured or perverted, error and 
fiction accumulated, and impartial judgment and unbiassed decision were 
thereby prevented. Those works were more fitted for the perusal of 
the antiquary than the amusement of the general reader; but a pow- 
erful stimulus to the curiosity concerning Scotland has been given by 
the writings of Sir Walter Scott, one of the most illustrious of her sons, 
whose works have indeed produced a new era in literature. Caledonia 
2 



10 INTRODUCTION. 

has offered an ample field for the creations of poetry and romance, and 
by inte'rvveaving historical personages and events with the details of fic- 
titious narrative, the gifted author has, in his combinations, preserved 
with much fidelity the truth of nature, and the people, thus portrayed by 
the magic pencil of genius, are presented under that view which most 
strikingly displays their national character. Whilst those and other 
volumes almost equally fascinating, illustrate Scotish life and history, 
exhibit the influence of peculiar institutions, and delineate the manners 
of the inhabitants, they are the most amusing compositions of the age, 
and by the varied beauties of their recitals, have charmed civilized soci- 
ety throughout the globe. The sublime and pathetic remains of Ossian 
and other bards display the ancient Gael in the most imposing colors, 
and draw forth our admiration by the dignity of their style, and the 
grandeur of their imagery. Ramsay, Burns, and other poets, embellish 
rural life, and raise our ideas of the talents and intelligence of the Scot- 
ish peasantry, but " the wizard of the north " has environed his subject 
with a halo of romantic glory, brightening the page of history, and rous- 
ing an enthusiastic attention to all that relates to this part of the island. 
In thus, however, expressing what all must feel, it is necessary to observe 
that novels of this class are not to be received as genuine history; they 
are not meant for the communication of strict truth, and the remark is 
only excited by noticing the authority which has been conceded to this 
class of composition. Highly as their authors, especially the writer 
above mentioned, are to be admired, and deeply versed as they undoubt- 
edly are, in all departments of Scotish history, they are, nevertheless, 
obliged to sacrifice truth for the sake of effect, for which, at the same 
time, they are not to be censured. Sir Walter, in his various publica- 
tions, has brought into view many of the ancient customs of the Scots, 
several of which have long been peculiar to the Highlanders; and the 
notes to his poetical works, and the recent illustrations of his prose writ- 
ings, contain the history and description of many curious observances, 
as well as authentic details of interesting transactions. The present 
volumes, by elucidating in the sober language of history those manners 
so beautifully blended with fiction by the novelists, and those circum- 
stances which are introduced with so much effect, and so materially add 
to the interest with which their works are read, afford some claim to the 
consideration of the public. 

The numerous volumes extant on Scotish history and antiquities may 
appear to render the present undertaking superfluous, but no publication 
on the same extensive plan has yet appeared. In a general history par- 
ticular information cannot be given, and should not be expected — topo- 
graphical works are partial — tours and essays are superficial — and con- 
troversial writings, of which the Northern part of the island has been a 
fertile source, are still less popular, and are often less satisfactory in 
every respect than the others. 

Dr. Mac Pherson, in his "Dissertations," had a similar view to that 



INTRODUCTION. H 

which led to the production of this work; but his labors are limited, and 
he chiefly compares the Gaelic customs with those of the Germans 
My endeavor has been to illustrate, with impartiality, the manners of 
the Celtic race, to trace the language, the religion, form of government, 
and peculiar usages of the Scots to their origin; to show their identity 
with those of the aborigines of Britain, and their resemblance to those 
of the remaining branches of the Celtic race, and thence to prove their 
own descent, and the derivation of the singular manners which so long 
distinguished them, and to which they yet fondly cling. That all these 
emanated from the primitive inhabitants of Europe, I trust will be satis- 
factorily shown. It is justly observed by Dr. Henry, of the Gauls and 
Britons, that "whatever is said of the persons, manners, and customs 
of the one, may be applied to the other with little variation and few 
exceptions." 

I am aware that some of the subjects on which I have ventured to 
write have been bones of contention between the learned; I have no 
wish to increase the list of disputants, and should not have obtruded my 
opinions, opposed, as they sometimes are, to those of others, if I could 
have withheld them with justice to my design. My reasoning may not 
always be satisfactory, but I hope it is not intemperate, and can aver 
that it is the result of long consideration and careful investigation. 
Most of the Scots' writers have unfortunately used their pens under 
feelings of heat and indignation, either as the prejudiced but zealous 
champions of Celtic, Gothic, Irish, or Saxon colonization, — the strenuous 
advocates and pertinacious opponents of royal and noble genealogies, or 
the redoubted vindicators and assailants of national independence and 
ancient glory; yet, whatever warmth may be displayed by individuals, 
the researches of many in different departments have brought forward 
and preserved much matter, both curious and important. Numerous 
local historians, poets, and tourists, have recorded interesting facts, and 
many literary societies have elucidated national history by their own 
labors, and by their exertions to promote all kinds of research. Of these, 
and all other accessible sources of information, I have availed myself; 
in doing which, and in making personal investigations and inspections of 
existing remains in both countries, I have spent some years of unwearied 
labor, and I have been enabled to accomplish this undertaking, if not in 
a manner so complete as I could wish, yet in a style which may evince 
my desire to be as correct and satisfactory as possible. * 

The labor attending the research necessary for the proper execution 
of a work of so comprehensive a nature as this, can only be appreciated 
by those who have been engaged in a similar pursuit. The variety of 
authorities which I have consulted is indicated by the quotations and 

*■ Many drawings of Scotish antiquities and accompanying observations have been 
honored by the notice of different Societies, who have, in several cases, published 
them in the volumes of their Transactions, the fidelity of the sketches having been 
acknowledged by members who had themselves seen the objects. 



12 INTRODUCTION. 

references, but numerous works were necessarily perused without ob* 
taining any thing to repay the trouble. 

The Celtic race were scarcely less celebrated for their acquirements 
in arts than for proficiency in military tactics. The studies of all lauda- 
ble sciences, says Marcellinus, flourished highly in Gaul, being strictly 
cultivated by the sacred order of Eubages, Bards, and Druids. The 
former, searching into nature's highest altitude, endeavored to explain 
its operations; and the Druids, of a more refined imagination, were ad- 
dicted wholly to questions of deep and hidden matters. The Celts, as 
will be seen throughout the present work, were by no means barbarous, 
m the common acceptation of the word, but were the inventors of nu- 
merous useful and ingenious contrivances, for which surrounding nations 
were indebted to them. "I am tired," says a learned writer on the 
language of this people, "of always hearing the Romans quoted, when 
the commencement of our civilisation is spoken of; while nothing is 
said of our obligations to the Celts. It was not the Latins, it was the 
Gauls who were our first instructers."* Some of the ancients had the 
candor to make the same confession. Aristotle declared that philosophy 
was derived by the Greeks from the Gauls, and not imparted to them. 

So far is it from true that the Celtae were "totally unable to raise 
themselves in the scale of society," as the author of the "Enquiry" 
boldly asserts, that numerous individuals obtained high and well deserved 
honors in the Roman empire. The race was, in fact, remarkable for 
superiority of mental endowments, which is proved by the list of cele- 
brated individuals of Celtic origin. Spain alone produced Seneca, Lu- 
can, Collumella, Martial, Q,uintillian, &c. whilst the Egyptians and other 
people, subjected by the Romans, furnished none of any note. The 
Gauls were truly "of sharp wit and apt to learn," and they were even 
excelled by the Britons,! the kno^vledge of whose priesthood was so 
profound, that the youth of the continent came hither to study and com- 
plete their education, by a course of no less than twenty years' proba- 
tion. This learning was not confined to the Southern tribes, but equally 
pervaded those of the North. Coil, surnamed Sylvius Bonus, maintain- 
ed a poetical correspondence with Ausonius. Celestius, Pelagius, St. 
Patrick, and others, who flourished in the fourth and fifth centuries, were 
Scotsmen, not to mention those who are believed to have lived about the 
period of the Roman invasion, and even before that event, if we can 
credit Bale, Leland, Dempster, &c. 

In the reign of Charlemagne the Scots were renowned on the conti- 
nent, their learning and probity recommending them to situations of trust 
and honor. Hericus, in his Life of St. Caesar, dedicated to this prince, 
says, the whole Scotish nation, almost "despising the dangers of the 
sea, resort to our country with a numerous train of philosophers." The 
professors of Paris and Padua were then Scotsmen, and Charles's pre- 



,T alius Liechtlen. t Tacitus' Life of Agricola, c. xxi 



INTRODUCTION. IS 

ceptor, Alcuin, is also believed to have b'^n one. Paulas ^inilius, 
speaking of Charlemagne, says he bestowed the honors and magistra- 
cies of the nation especially upon the Scots, whom he greatly esteemed 
for their fidelity and valor; and Eginhart writes, that the kings of Scot- 
land were much devoted to him, which their letters to him, then extant, 
confirmed.* Whether he sent to King Achadh, or Achaius, requesting 
(he assistance of learned men, as some affirm, it may be immaterial to 
mquire, but that a friendship subsisted between the two nations is cer- 
tain; and Charles himself, in a mandate concerning the Scots' church 
of Honaugia, speaks of them as having obtained the particular favor 
and protection of the kings of France before his reign. The Scots 
were indeed most zealous and indefatigable missionaries, and taught the 
Christian religion to several nations, founding many churches and reli- 
gious houses in Germany, France, and Italy itself, distinguishing them- 
selves by their piety, and a strict adherence to the primitive rites from 
which the Church of Rome had departed. 

Lest I should be classed with those vain and prejudiced Scotsmen, 
who are represented as maintaining what is called the national honor, 
against all reason and historical facts, fable and conjecture being thought 
the only support for their assertions, it may be well to adduce some 
proofs, in order to show that Scotland must have possessed very ancient 
documents, and men well qualified, as well as solicitous, to frame and 
preserve such records. The violent heat — nay, rage, with which many 
Scots antiquaries have vindicated the former glories of their country, 
has often subjected them to reproach and ridicule, and has unfortunately 
detracted from the merit of their works. 

It is generally believed that the Druids committed nothing to writing, 
and that, in fact, their profession forbade the use of letters; but while 
this is true, as far as respects their mythology and religious rites, there 
:'s every reason to believe that they composed books or tracts on other 
subjects. The bards, who were the professors and conservators of his- 
tory, appear to have been under no restraint in committing their partic- 
ular knowledge to writing ; and it is reported that collections of the 
Brehon laws of high antiquity, and in their peculiar law language, still 
exist. At li, or lona, the chief seat of the Druidical order in Scotland, 
Columba is said to have burned a heap of their books; and in Ireland, 
St. Patrick was no less severe, committing, according to the Leccan 
records, no less than 180 tracts to the flames. The assertion so often 
repeated in the Ossianic controversy, that no Gaelic MSS. were in ex- 
istence, was generally believed until the investigations of the Highland 
Society proved its falsity. If the reader consult the last Chapter of this 
work, he will be satisfied that the Scots had the use of letters in the 
most early ages; but as it seems here necessary, to show what reliance 
may be placed on the statements which are subsequently introduced, and 

* Vita et Gestae Karoli Magni, p. 138, ed. Francofurti. 



14 INTRODUCTION. 

to vindicate the authenticity of several of the authorities which it has 
been necessary to quote, some account of the early state of literature in 
the British Isles shall be given. 

The bards occasionally wrote in the first ages of Christianity, but we 
are told they did not make it a practice to commit their poems to literary 
record before the fifth century, and the distractions which so long af- 
flicted the country occasioned the loss, either by destruction or removal, 
of most of their productions; and hence Gildas, who wrote in the middle 
of the sixth century, for want of those "records left by his own country- 
men, which were either destroyed by the enemy at home, or carried by 
exiles into other parts," was obliged to apply for the most part to foreign 
writers. Nennius, who flourished in 858, tells us he compiled his his- 
tory "from the Roman annals, the chronicles of the holy fathers, and 
the writings of the Scots and English; also from the traditions of the 
elders, which, by many learned men and librarians, had been reduced to 
writing, but either from frequent deaths, or the devastations of war, were 
then left in a decayed and confused condition." 

The remains of British history were collected by Walter Calenius, 
Archdeacon of Oxford, and were finally translated, interpolated, and 
published by Geoffry of Monmouth. The author of the Life of Ninian, 
Bishop of Galloway, says he made use of a book, " De vita et miraculis 
ejus, barbaria Scriptus;" and the Chronicon Rhythmicum, a Scotish 
record, was copied from " Chronica Scripta." The ancient tract enti- 
tled "De situ Albaniae," quotes British histories and chronicles, and acts 
and annals of the Scots and Picts. The original register of St. Andrews 
also quoted Pictish books; yet Pinkerton maintains that those people did 
not know the use of letters, his proof being that all their churchmen and 
men of learning were either Welsh or Scots. It is sufficient evidence 
that the Picts were not thus illiterate, could nothing else be advanced, 
than that Nechtan, one of their kings, wrote to Ceolfrid, Abbot of Wear- 
mouth, in 715, and translated his long letter into the Pictish language; 
and he was accustomed, we are told, to peruse and meditate on the 
Scriptures. A fragment of Strathclyde Gaelic, which Lhuyd found, and 
pronounced of the sixth century, shows that the people of that district 
were equally educated with their neighbors, Adomnan's Life of Colum- 
ba was first written in Gaelic, as were most of the books known to have 
been preserved at lona, several of which, in 1525, were removed to 
Aberdeen, but others were seen torn up for snuff" paper at Inverary. 

The existence of the historian Veremundus, who has been placed in 
the list of fabulous authorities by most writers, is ably vindicated in a 
work by Mr. Tytler. That he and others composed tracts on the national 
history is certain, if quotations from their writings, and allusions to them 
by early chroniclers is a valid proof To find historians, therefore, who 
wrote 1200 or 1400 years ago referring to old records in the same terms 
now applied to their own works, surely proves the antiquity of writing. 
To what extent the ancient documents thus referred to may have been, 



INTRODUCTION. 15 

cannot now be ascertained. John Fordun, in the middle of the 14th 
century, mentions old chronicles and historical annals which he had 
consulted. It is, indeed, apparent that he transcribed from authentic 
materials, and the only desideratum is to know their extent and antiquity. 

The general belief has always been that our ancient records were de- 
stroyed by Edward I. of England, but some late writers have opposed 
this opinion, denying the existence of such documents, and alleging 
that all those he carried away were returned after they had been ex- 
amined for the purpose of supporting that king's pretended claim to the 
supremacy of Scotland, Chalmers says, "he did not destroy those 
documents, but is answerable for all the derangement and loss they sus- 
tained;" but his intentions respecting the Scotish crown, and conduct 
towards the country, justify a strong suspicion that no record inimical to 
his object was by any means likely to be preserved or restored. Sir 
George Mac Kenzie has observed that Edward assuredly did not return 
all the documents he had carried off, giving an instance in the release 
granted by Richard I. to William, which Rymer has published. 

The destruction of national archives by the ravages of war and civil 
dissensions has been lamentable. The Reformation was peculiarly fatal to 
those preserved in religious houses. Duplicates of the renunciation by Ed- 
ward III. of all claim to the sovereignty of Scotland, were deposited in 
each of the cathedrals, and of those only the one kept at Glasgow was saved. 

The picturesque and singular dress of the Highlanders has been an 
object of particular remark. To those who seem to have assailed the 
antiquity of every thing peculiar to this people, more from sentiments of 
individual aversion than from a spirit of candor or love of truth, it has 
offered a prominent mark for the display of anti-Celtic feeling. The 
garb is, in the following pages, described and illustrated in all its varie- 
ties, as now and formerly worn; and while the arguments of those who 
assert its recent adoption are overthrown, the constant use of the Brea- 
can-feile and Feile-beag will be proved from documents of unquestionable 
authenticity. It will be shown that the ambiguous terms in which this 
unique and graceful costume has been spoken of, cannot be applied to 
any other habit, and that the writers were at a loss to describe a dress 
so different from all others, and so difficult to be comprehended by those 
who only saw it at a distance, and were ignorant of its arrangement. 
This will appear the less strange when so few in the present day, afler 
it has become in some degree familiar even to the inhabitants of " Cock- 
aigne," understand its proper composition; and this not excepting many 
of the natives of Scotland itself While, however, some authors have 
written in ignorance, many have done so from a feeling of prejudice and 
silly jealousy of the Scotish mountaineers; but it will be proved that this 
primitive costume, so well suited to the warrior, so well adapted for the 
avocations of the hunter and shepherd, has not only been the invariable 
dress of the Highlanders from time immemorial, but is to be derived from 
the most remote antiquity ; and that neither their clothing, arms, language, 



16 INTRODUCTION. 

poetry, nor music, has been adopted from any nation whatever, but 
received from the primaeval people whence they sprang. Their country 
and pursuits rendering the belted plaid and kilt the most convenient ap- 
parel, they were not likely to lay it aside for any other. It is still less 
nrobable, that had the Trius been worn before the adoption of the Feile- 
beag, the inhabitants of a cold climate would have denuded themselves 
of so essential a part of the dress of all other nations. Nor would a 
people so strongly attached to their primitive customs, and opposed tc 
change, have become so partial to a dress introduced by strangers. All 
who ever settled in the Highlands, as far as we can ascertain, conformed 
to the manners of their adopted country. 

I trust that I shall be found to have fulfilled all that was promised in 
the Prospectus. If any part has been treated superficially, it is the 
"genealogical dissertations," a subject to which incidental allusions 
only could be made in such a work. The materials I have, however, 
collected, are abundant and interesting, and will enable me, should such 
an undertaking meet with encouragement, to elucidate Clan History in 
a novel and interesting manner. The ignorance of heralds and genealo- 
gists has wofully mystified family antiquities; but my plan is not to de 
rive families from the individual whose name is first found in a charter, 
or other document, as the laborious author of "Caledonia" has done, 
imagining he had settled their origin by this proof, as if persons of cer- 
tain names, or even tribes, did not exist before the formation of certain 
parchment documents ! I would, for instance, submit whether the 
Grants, a clan of equal antiquity with the Mac Alpins, who are tradition- 
ally considered to be coeval with their native hills, did not more proba- 
bly take their name from the well-known district in Strathspey, called 
Griantachd, the country of Grannus, or the sun, than from a certain 
person called Le Grand. The clan Chattan do indeed say that they are 
sprung from, or were connected with, the Cattans of the continent; but 
the Gordons, the Frasers, the Menzies, and the Ruthvens, have no 
tradition of their descent from the Gorduni, the Frisii, the Menapii, or 
the Rutheni, of Gaul, although the similarity of names seems of itself to 
infer a common origin. 

I have endeavored to relieve the tedium of the antiquarian and de- 
scriptive parts with anecdotes, many of them original, illustrative of the 
difFerent subjects, and I hope my selections may be thought judicious. 
I have, however, forborne to infuse humor into my recitals, notwith- 
standing it might have enlivened the drier parts of the narration. 

The variety of matters which are discussed at length, or briefly allud- 
ed to in these volumes, will be seen from the Index, in preparing which 
I have bestowed much care, confident that to no work could it be more 
necessary. He who, for want of this useful appendage, has been com- 
pelled to go over a book in search of something, which perhaps after his 
trouble he may not find, will be able to appreciate this part of the work. 
The reader will find the Index a faithful assistant to almost every subject 



INTRODUCTION. 17 

The gracious permission to dedicate this work to his present Most 
Excellent Majesty, is a renewal of the distinguished honor intended me 
by his lamented predecessor. 

The Highland Society of London, ever ready to promote objects of 
national importance, promptly declared their resolution to encourage my 
design. 



In addition to what has been said on some subjects, the few farther 
observations which follow may not be inappropriate. 

In page 97 are some remarks on the population of the Highlands and 
Isles. The whole population of Scotland will be ascertained by the 
census of May, 1831. It having appeared to me desirable to obtain an 
accurate statement of the numbers of the Highlanders, dividing them 
into clans or districts, I had the honor of corresponding with Sir John 
Sinclair and others, who entered into my views on the subject. Con- 
vinced that a census taken in this manner would be of national utility, 
in putting government in possession of the real strength of each clan, 
and thus enabling it to determine what regiments could, in case of 
emergency, be raised in certain parts, and recruited from the same dis- 
trict, I took the liberty of communicating my sentiments to Mr. Rick- 
man, who was charged with the execution of the Population Acts of 
1801, 1811, and 1831. My object was not deemed capable of being 
accomplished; but the following letter from a gentleman long in the army, 
and on the recruiting service, will, perhaps, show that its adoption 
might have been attended with advantage. 

"DearSik, '^BlstAugust, 1820. 

" With i-espect to takuig. the census by clans in the Highlands of Scotland, ] 
think it would be of importance in many points of view, but particularly with 
respect to military levies and national defence. When a regiment is raised from 
one clan, the men consider themselves as much at home, wherever they serve, 
as though they had not left their native vaUey- The youth enlist into such regi- 
ment with alacrity, and the more it distinguishes itself, and the harder its services, 
the moi'e eager will they be to gam a name among their kindi'ed. Had the 71st, 
72nd, 73rd, 74th, and 75th regiments been the clan regiments of the Mac Don- 
alds, the Mac Intoshes, the Grants, the Mac Phersons, &c. the government had 
never found it necessaiy to change their dress, and wrap their thighs in a blan- 
ket, as the few Highlanders we had then in the 75th emphatically called 
breeches of white coarse cloth. I conceive, that although heritable jurisdictions 
have very properly been abolished, it would be advantageous to government to 
keep up among the Gael as much of the spirit of clanship as possible. If they 
have sacrificed so much to mistaken loyalty, what may not be expected from 
their devotedness to a better cause, if in the course of events it should require 
their support. In short, if the clan system had been more fully adopted during 
last war, I have no doubt there would have been at Waterloo, for every High- 
lander who fought there, at least two, and his Grace of Wellington can best tell 
what would have been their value on such an occasion. The plan alluded to 
would put the government in possession of the number of each clan, and in the 
case of raising local forces, or troops for general service, they would fix upon 
those clans whose numbers would enable them to complete their levies in the 
shortest time. Upon this point it would create a useful feeling among the 
chiefs, of retaining the tenantry upon their estates, for he that has nothing but 
sheep on his grounds could never expect a colonelcy. 
3 



18 INTRODUCTION. 

I have been a great part of my life a diligent observer of the character and 
manners of the Highlanders, and I have uniformly found, that preserving thern 
in a body is the only means of preserving their character from degenerating. 
The reason of this is clear ; if a man commit an imworthy action while serving 
abroad, his friends at home are sure to be informed of it, and he looks upon 
himself as a banished man, who must never revisit his native land. 
I am, dear Sir, yours sincerely. 

To Mr. James Logan. Donaxd Mac Pherson. " 

In support of the opinions here stated, it may be observed, that at 
Waterloo, of 454 Scotsmen in the 42nd regiment, their were only 17 
men of the name of Campbell, 5nd not one Gordon. The former join 
their friends in the 79th and 91st. The latter serve in their own clan 
corps, where also the Mac Phersons chiefly enrol themselves. In like 
manner the Macrtes, Munroes, Rosses, &c. join the Mac Kenzies in 
the 78th, and the Mac Kays go into the Sutherland regiment; this, how- 
ever, is no proof of the indifference of individuals to the feelings of clan- 
ship; they only, when entering the army, select the regiment where they 
can associate with those who are from the same parts of the country. 
The inference is, that were Highlanders able to serve in a battalion of 
their own clan, they would enter the service with more alacrity. 

In stating that the sword which belonged to Gordon, of Bucky, is 
believed to be the oldest specimen of the basket hilt, I had not seen a 
weapon which has been an heir loom in the family of Sir Charles Forbes, 
of New, and Edinglassie, in Aberdeenshire, This curious sword is very 
broad, but not of great length, and bears an inscription, " The Cuttie of 
New. Alex"" Forbes, 1513." If the cliabh, or basket, is an original 
part, it appears to be the most early specimen. 



The names of the letters given in the Gaelic Alphabet, are chiefly 
from the Dictionary published under the sanction of the Highland Socie- 
ty, and I have stated that the Irish idiom has been adopted. It is to be 
regretted that the learned gentlemen employed in this great work did 
not give the native appellations of the letters, several of which diffei 
from those in the sister dialect. The compilers had not the same object 
in view which I have in speaking of the Tree system in the above place, 
but some more attention to the letters, the materials of which their 
whole work is composed, might have been more satisfactory. The sub- 
ject of Letters and Language, discussed in the Introduction and last 
chapter, deserves a more extended dissertation than the present design 
could admit of. " There is room," says Gibbon, " for a very interest- 
ing work, — to lay open the connexion between the language and man- 
ners of nations " 




CHAPTER I. 

OF THE CELTIC RACE, COMPOSING THE VARIOUS NATIONS 
THAT FORMERLY INHABITED EUROPE. 

Europe, in the most early ages, was inhabited by one race of men, 
whose antiquity is enveloped in inscrutable darkness. From the first 
memorial of their existence, they are distinguished by the name of 
CeltjE, but the origin of this remarkable people was utterly unknown 
to themselves. They had no idea of having ever occupied any other 
country than that in which they found themselves; and the Druids, the 
depositaries of their traditional knowledge, maintained that they were 
aborigines.* This belief was not singular, nor more extraordinary than 
that of many other nations, equally ignorant and credulous, but more 
polished and refined. The Celtae, on the authority of their priests, de 
clared themselves descended from the god Dis, a being identified with 
the Pluto of Greek and Roman mythology,! but more probably meant 
for the Earth. 

This derivation cannot be admitted: the inhabitants of the west must 
have proceeded from Asia, the parent country of all mankind, at a 
period which neither historical research nor popular tradition has been 
able to approach. All history, both sacred and profane, proves this 
quarter of the globe to have been the original seat of mankind. 

* Ammianns Marcellinus, on the authority of Timogenes. 

t Cassar, de Belle Gallico, lib. vi. c. 17. The Germans derived their origin from 
Tuisto, apparently the same being as the Celtic Dis or Tis. Tacitus, de Mor. 
Germanorum 



2C THE CELTS 

In migrating from the east, the human race successively occupied Greece 

and Italy, and extended themselves from the Euxine to the Atlantic. As 
L.eir numbers increased, they gradually took possession of the whole 
country from the Mediterranean to the Baltic, and a scanty population 
sought the means of subsistence, among the less inviting vi'astes, from 
thence to the Frozen Sea. Europe and Celtica were indeed synony- 
mous:* the sole inhabitants, from the Pillars of Hercules to Archangel, 
and from the banks of the Euxine to the German Ocean, being Celts, 
however distinguished by particular names, applied at various times to 
different tribes and independent communities. The appellation Celtae, 
which this primitive people acknowledged as their only proper name,| 
and which at first they received from others, in subsequent times under- 
went several changes. The ancient Greeks used this term in speaking 
of them, but it afterwards became transformed into Calatse and Galatos,J 
and the Roman Galli was itself latterly adopted by some Greek writers.^ 

Numerous etymologies have been offered for the solution of this word. 
In all its variations it may, with probability, be traced through the Greek 
Kelxoi to some corresponding term in the Celtic language that no longer 
exists. It would be a waste of time to enumerate all the conjectures 
which have been given, and the result would be unsatisfactory. From 
various circumstances one people may become distinguished from another; 
but if inquirers were to reflect, that original names cannot arise from 
national manners, and that it is more natural for nations to become de- 
nominated from the country they inhabit, than that it should receive a 
name from its possessors, it would serve to check many romantic and 
fanciful conceits. An appellation so very ancient, and so extensively 
bestowed, must have arisen from something independent of country, and 
appropriate to a numerous race. 

To derive the term Celta3 from " Hills," or " Woods," or " Waters," 
or from western or northern position, when the people so designated oc- 
cupied all parts of an extensive continent, and filled its islands, is mani- 
festly absurd. How much more likely it is to have arisen from peculiar 
personal appearance, the first and natural origin of names. It has been 
supposed that the Greeks applied the term to denote the milky ivhiteness 
of the skin; but in this point the difference between the two people 
seems insufficient to give rise to a designation, which the Celts retained 
as their own proper name. A striking and a permanent dissimilarity has 
always existed between the European and the Ethiopian, both in com- 
plexion and personal conformation. Amid conjectures so various, may 
we not suppose, that in the infancy of mankind, if I can so speak, per- 

* Ortellius, " Geographia vetus." t Coesar, ut sup. 

t Pausanias, who wrote about 165, says they were but lately denominated Gauls, for 
they had always called themselves Celtae. Descriptio Grsecise, lib. i. c. 3. The term 
Gauls seems to have been at first applied to those who had obtained a settlement in 
Asia, and were long known as Galaiians. 

§ Appian first uses it in the beginning of the second century. 



THE CELTS 21 

haps before they had visited Europe, a name arose expressive of the 
fair complexion of the white man, compared with the sable negro.* 
From the primitive language of those who first peopled the country, the 
Greek Galactoi has been undoubtedly derived, and was afterwards given 
as the origin of the term, when the most ancient Celtic had become 
unknown. 

The practice of distinguishing individuals by personal appearance and 
qualifications, is still retained by the Scots Highlanders, the Irish, and 
the Welsh; and, in support of the etymology I have above given, it is 
worthy of observation, that " Gaelic " has been, by good antiquaries, 
translated the language of white men. Gealta signifies whitened, ana 
comes from Geal, white."f The similarity of this word to the term Celtce 
is striking; from it, in all probability, came the Roman Gallus. 

As the Celtae moved westward, either from choice or the pressure of 
an increasing population in the east, they carried with them a simple 
language and mode of life; and as they met with no inhabitants in the 
land they took possession of, their primitive manners could at first suffer 
no farther change than what the difference of country and climate would 
naturally produce. It may be inferred, with probability, that they con- 
tinued for a considerable time less warlike than nations who obtain a 
settlement by force of arms, and must of necessity protect their acqui- 
sition by similar means. The disconnexion of their tribes, a striking 
characteristic of the race, had an apparent tendency to enfeeble the 
Celts, and seems to have prevented the formation of any great empire, 
as among other nations; but the peace in which they lived was favorable 
to population. Their mode of life, while it cherished a love of freedom, 
was highly conducive to bodily strength and hardihood; and the princi- 
ple of division, which separated the people into so many distinct and 
independent tribes, did not prevent them from uniting in enterprises, by 
which their power was often felt in various parts of the world. They in- 
vaded Asia, they overspread Thrace, and enriched themselves with the 
plunder of the temples of Greece. In the reign of Tarquin the elder, 
nearly six centuries before the incarnation, J a numerous body of Celtae, 
both horse and foot, accompanied by multitudes of women and children, 
left their native seats in search of new settlements. One part of this 
army followed Belovesus, and surmounting the Alps, which, till then, it 
was believed, had never been crossed, established themselves near the 

* So the native Americans call themselves the red men, in contradistinction to the 
whites. 

i Gaelic Dictionaries. The Pictish Chronicle says, the Albani, who had their name 
from their white, hair, were the people from whom both Scots and Picts were derived. 
Those who deduced Celtae from flaxen or reddish colored hair, gave a plausible ety- 
mon : C was often used for G, and seems to have been the most ancient letter 
Hence we find the Galatians were also called Calatians; Gallicia was anciently Calla 
cia, &c. 

t About 570 Bossuet, Histoire Universelle, vol. i. p. 33. Ed. 1706. 



22 THE CELTS. 

river Po; while the other division, conducted by his brother, Sigovesus, 
passed into Germany, where these emigrants settled, in the vicinity of 
the Hyrcinian, now the Black Forest.* The nume*-»us armies which 
the Celtae at times sent abroad, filled with alarm the most warlike and 
civilized nations of Europe, Their irresistible inroads, and the terror 
of their name, procured peaceful settlements, and even the payment 
of heavy annual tribute from powerful states. An army of Gauls, under 
the command of Brennus, went into Italy against the Hetrusci, 390 
years before the advent of Christ. The Romans thought proper to in- 
terfere in the quarrel, and killed one of the Gallic princes; upon which 
their army, marching to Rome, defeated the troops who opposed them, 
laid the city in ashes, and finally received one thousand pounds weight 
of gold to purchase their retreat, and save the capital from inevitable 
destruction. Camillus was fortunately able to repulse them, as they 
lingered in the country, unapprehensive of attack; but they were not 
deterred by defeat from renewing their overwhelming and destructive 
invasions. ■]" 

About 270, A. C, in three great divisions, they made inroads on 
Pannonia, Thrace, Macedonia, and lUyria. Those who entered Mace- 
donia routed the army by which they were opposed, and slew Ptolemy 
the king. Passing into Asia, they filled the inhabitants with terror and 
dismay, and received from the suffering Bythinians a free settlement in 
the country, where they were afterwards known as the Galatians, or 
Gallo-Greeks. The other divisions were less fortunate; but they retreat- 
ed only to invade Greece with redoubled fury, and a more numerous 
armament. J 

The Celtae, notwithstanding the frequent demonstrations of their war- 
like powers, were, for a long period, but little known to the more polish- 
ed nations of Europe, who were able to transmit authentic information 
concerning so singular a people. Their history and their religion were 
preserved among themselves; but their rigid adherence to traditional 
poetry, as the sole vehicle of record, has left posterity in much igno- 
rance concerning the state of the Celtic nations in early ages. Their 
ferocious invasions too, however they might excite curiosity, were not 
calculated to induce a personal visit to their territories, or a quiet inves- 
tigation of their manners and antiquities. When there was, therefore, 
scarcely any communication with the north and west parts of the conti- 
nent, it was impossible to acquire accurate information respecting these 
parts of Europe, or the inhabitants; hence the obscure and contradictory 
intimations we find concerning both. 

A people who are spread over a vast continent, cannot long remain 
an entire nation. Boundaries, marked out by nature, will divide the in- 

* Livius, Historia Romana. lib. v. c. 34, 35. Appian, of the Gallic War, c. 1. 
t Plutarch, in vita Camilli. Strabo, iv. p. 195, v. p. 213. 
t Pausanias, x. 19. 



THE HYPERBOREI. 23 

habitants into separate communities, and local situation will procure an 
appropriate name, and create a difference in manners. In the lapse of 
time the dissimilarity is increased, and when, from an obvious and inher- 
ent principle, every community aspires to an independent existence, the 
most powerful will acquire and retain an ascendency over the others, 
who, ultimately, become confederates, and are classed as branches or 
subdivisions of a numerous association. Thus arises a variety of na- 
tions or tribes that long continue to be regulated by similar laws and 
customs, and retain their original language, but eventually alter their 
dialect, and lose the remembrance of a common origin. 

The Celts, who were the sole inhabitants of Europe in the infancy of 
time, were at last formed into a number of divisions, distinguished by 
peculiar names, but retaining, with their national affini , the general 
appellation of Celtoe. 

The apparent diversity of the ancient people of Europe, arising, as it 
should seem, from the confused and indefinite ideas that existed respect- 
ing the regions of the north and west, has been a prolific source for 
polemical discussion, and has afforded ample matter for *he disquisitions 
of those who have applied themselves to investigate the origin of nations. 
An ignorance, so favourable to the indulgence of fancy, has given op- 
portunity for the introduction of ficticious narration. The Greeks were 
extremely credulous, and it is often very difficult to understand what 
people were meant in their dark and traditional relations. 

The Hyperborei, or those who lived beyond the north wind, appear 
the most singular of the people of antiquity. So dark are the intima- 
tions that are handed down concerning them, that we are inclined to 
consider the whole as the fables or allegories of an obscure theology. 
According to some historians, si credimus, as Pliny very considerately 
adds, they dwelt beyond the Riphsean mountains, which were always 
covered with snow, and from whence the north wind arose: a latitude by 
no means suitable to the descriptions given by others, of the genial cli- 
mate, the fruitful soil, and the happy lives of the inhabitants.* The sit- 
uation of the Sauromatge, with whom the Hyperborei have been identi- 
fied, does not better justify the appellation. Strabo speaks of the Hy- 
perborei as those people, whose geographical position could scarcely 
give propriety to the name. Diodorus Siculus, on the authority of Heca- 
tasus, a very ancient historian, who wrote, as Herodotus informs us, a 
volume on the Hyperborei, describes them as inhabiting an island oppo- 
site to Gaul, and as large as Sicily; but he does not appear to give 
much credit to the relation. ■]" These islanders had of long and ancient 
time a particular esteem for the Greeks, arising from certain religious 
connexions, to be hereafter noticed. This description appears applica- 
ble to Britain, if there were not, as Bryant conjectures, a mysterious 

* Herodotus, lib. iv. Pliny. Hist. Nat. iv. 12. Pomp. Mela, i. 1, &c. Strabo, i. p. 61 
+ Diod. Sic. ii. 3. 



24 THE CIMBRI. 

signification in the name. It was certainly suited to vague and unintel- 
ligible ideas respecting some remote people. When Rome was taken 
by the Gauls under Brennus, it was reported in the east that his troops 
were an army of Hyperborei.* These conflicting accounts prove how 
little was really known of those who dwelt beyond the snowy regions 
and the north wind. 

The CiMMERii, who are placed by Homer "at old Ocean's utmost 
bounds," and are otherwise believed to have lived in Italy, near the lake 
Avernus, | inhabited the country in the vicinity of the Cimmerian Bos- 
phorus, to which, either this people, or an ancient city gave name. J 
Eusebius mentions an incursion of the Cimmerii into Greece, 1076 years 
before Christ, Subsequently, they made inroads on Ionia and Lydia, 
and took the city of Sardes. § About 600 years before the Christian era 
they were driven into Asia by the Scyths, where they are all supposed 
to have perished. They sometimes were called Trerones, from one of 
their tribes, the Treres, who bordered on Macedonia; || a considerable 
distance, certainly, from the position which the Cimmerians are gener- 
ally supposed to have occupied. Although the Cimmerii would appear, 
from the above account, to have been extinct nearly 2500 years, Dio- 
nysius Periegetes and Pliny speak of some of them as still remaining 
in their original situation; and Plutarch says, that the greater and more 
warlike part took up their residence "in the remotest regions upon the 
northern ocean." IT 

It was a prevalent opinion, that they were the same people as the 
CiMBRi, who inhabited Jutland, Holstein, &c. in Denmark, formerly 
denominated the Cimbrica Chersonesus, and who introduced themselves 
to the notice of the Romans 113 years A. C.** 

Diodorus, from the resemblance which the two people bore to each 

*Heraclides of Pontus, de anima, quoted by Ritson. Plutarch, in Vita Camilli, 
ibid. t Strabo, v. p. 244. 

t Strabo, xi. p. 494. Mela. James Gronovius says, the city itself received its name 
from the Cimmerians, p. 137, ed. 1697. The Bosphorus is now known as the Straits 
of CafFa. 

§ Strabo. Callisthenes, apud Gronovium in Animad. ed. 1739, &c. 

II Strabo, i. p. 61. PUny, iv. 10. ITIn Bello Cimbrico. Pliny, vi. 12. 

**The name of these people has received different etymological solutions. It is said 
to arise from the Greek Kimeros, mist or darkness, the origin of the Latin Cimmerius. 
Beloe, on Herodotus. Sheringham, and Bryant, in his analysis of Ancient Mythology, 
iii. 498, coincide in this derivation. Others have deduced Cimbri from a word which 
signifies robbers in German to this day. Festus, Plutarch, &c. Kimper or Kimber, 
a warrior, is also given as the origin. Whittaker, alluding to the name, which the 
Welch still retain, calls Cymri and Gael, equally the general designations of the Celtse, 
being the hereditary name of the Gauls, from Gomer, the son of Japhet, an opinion 
that is embraced by others, and seems founded on the conjecture of Josephus, Antiq 
1. 6. It is an origin of the " grand generic term," much easier admitted than that they 
'• were produced from the elements of their own proper soil and climate." — O'Conner. 
Clelland, Voc. p. 202, says the appellation comes from the ancient Celtic Kym, a 
mountain. We find the island of Cimbrei, now Cuinray, the kingdom of Cumbria 



/ 



THE CIMBRI. 26 

other in warlike renown, says the Cimbrians were believed by many to 
be descended from the ancient Cimmerians, and Possidonius thinks the 
former were the original people, who, extending their arms eastward,, 
gave their name to the Bosphorus, an opinion in which Strabo seems to 
acquiesce.* The memorials of the ancient Cimmerii, who were so great 
and powerful, appear to have been chiefly records of their military en- 
terprises. Those people, who afterwards were found on the shores of 
the Baltic, although bearing a name so much alike, excited little notice 
until they burst on the astonished nations, and threatened the subversion 
of the Roman empire. It was then natural to inquire what they were, 
and whence they came, and it was not strange that the warlike Cimbri 
should be derived from the anciently renowned Cimmerii. Such a de- 
scent, notwithstanding the distance between their respective situations,! 
is not impossible; but a similarity of name is not a decisive proof of na- 
tional identity: it demonstrates the existence at some period of a univer- 
sal language. In the want of certain information, and from the ambi- 
guity of the ancient historians, much diversity of opinion has arisen 
concerning these people. Some authors positively affirm, that the Cim- 
brians must have been Celts; and others, with equal pertinacity, assert 
that they were Germans; and both parties are provided with authorities 
in vindication of their belief The expressions of several ancient writ- 
ers, perhaps, leave it doubtful which nation they understood the Cimbri 
to be most nearly related to; but others are sufficiently explicit. Plu- 
tarch says, that by their gray eyes and large stature, they were thought 
by some to be Germans, dwelling on the north sea; J and Pomponius 
Mela says, the Cimbri and Teutones are situated in the Codan bay, 
" beyond the Hermiones and the last of Germany."^ Pliny, 1| Strabo, 
Velleius Paterculus, Tacitus, and others agree in calling them Germans. 
On the other hand, Cicero, Sallust, Dio, Sextus Rufus, &c. uniformly 
denominate them Celts or Gauls. Valerius Maximus, speaking of their 
invasion of Italy, says, Sertorius qualified himself for a spy, by assum- 
ing the Gallic habit, and learning that language. IT Florus, on the same 
subject, says, the Cimbri, Theutoni, and Tigurini, came from the most 
remote parts of Gaul:** out of the hidden parts of the ocean, as Ammi- 
anus expresses \t.'\'\ Diodorus states, that it was the opinion of many, 
that the Celts were themselves descended of the ancient Cimmerii, who, 
by a corrupt pronunciation, were then called Cimbri. JJ The Gauls who 
overran all Asia, he also says, were denominated Cimmerii, and in his 

&c. In the Commentaries of Csesar we also find Cimber a proper name. The Bretons 
are said to assume the name Cumero. 

* Lib. vii. p. 293. t Nearly 1400 miles. t In vita Camilli. 

§ De orbis situ, lii. c. 3. || Lib. iv. c. 14. 

TI Vita Sertorii. Caesar says, the Aduatici, a tribe of Belgic Gauls, were Cimbri, lib 
11. 0. 29. Dio. Cassius repeats this, lib. xxxix. 4, and Appian says the Nervii, a most 
powerful Belgian nation, were descended of the Cimbri and Teutones, lib. vi. 2. See 
the opinions of various authors in Ritson's Memoirs of the Celts. 

•* Lib. iii. 3. Strabo, ii. p. 102 tt Lib. xxxi. 6. U Lib. v. 2. 

4 



^^// 



26 THE SCYTHS. 

account of the Lusitanians, he calls them the most valiant of all tae 
Cimbri. " Celtas sive Galli quos Cimbros vocant," are the striking 
words of Appian.* 

Some have reconciled these different and contradictory passages by the 
consideration, that several tribes of Gauls joined in the expedition to 
Italy. If, however, the two people had been entirely distinct, the dis- 
similarity would most probably have been noticed; but the manners of 
the Cimbri, as they were displayed to the Romans, do not appear to have 
differed materially from those of the other inhabitants of Gaul. The 
terror inspired by the overwhelming invasion, through which their name 
first became known, 1 13 years before the Christian era, seems to have 
prevented a calm survey of visitors so alarming and so unexpected. 

An army of these people, so numerous, that, marching without inter- 
mission, six days elapsed before it had wholly passed, burst from the 
Alps like an irresistible torrent; resolved not to stop until the city of 
Rome had been razed to its foundations. After several successful bat- 
tles, this vast multitude were indeed finally routed, with incredible car- 
nage ;'f but the magnitude of the enterprise, and the desperate valor of 
the troops, made the strongest impression. 

The Cimbri remained long after this in their ancient seats, and ob- 
tained the friendship of the Romans, but never regained their former 
military renown. 

The history of the people denominated Scyths, who, from their vari- 
ous achievements, appear to have been a numerous and powerful race, 
is involved in singular obscurity. It has excited much interest, but the 
labors of those who have investigated the subject, notwithstanding their 
care in the pursuit, have not produced a very satisfactory result. Great 
learning, assisted by ingenious conjecture, has been exerted to ascertain 
whether the Celtas or the Scythae are the most ancient people. The lat- 
ter appear in a period the most remote, and they are mentioned with so 
much ambiguity, that it seems impossible to unravel the intricacy of their 
history. They are represented as conquering Asia 3660 years before the 
epoch of redemption, and effecting various other important revolutions in 
succeeding ages, until the seventh century before our era, when they ap- 
pear in Medea, whither they had pursued the Cimmerians. J They are sup- 
posed by many to have been those who are now called Tartars, and by some 
they are identified with the Celtse. Bryant, observing that there were 
Scyths in Asia and Africa, as well as in Europe, thinks the name was giv- 
en to mixed and wandering tribes in different parts of the world ;^ in which 
opmion Gibbon concurs, calling it " a vague but familiar appellation. "1| 

Strabo says, that, as Homer has intimated, all nations were originally 
called Scythse or Nomades; and afterwards, in the countries of the west, 

*In Illyricis, c. 2. t See Plutarch's account of the Cimbrian war 

t Herodotus, iv. 1. § Analysis of Ancient MyUiology. 

11 Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire. 



THE GOTHS. 27 

they began to acquire the appellations of Celtce, Celto-Scythte, and 
Iberi; but all the nations had at first one name.* 

The Scythians were certainly not recent settlers among the Aborigi- 
nes; for, like the Celtae, they had no idea of having ever possessed oth- 
er lands, but believed themselves more ancient than the Egyptians, who 
called themselves the most ancient of men.f The term I!KYQ.^}2, a 
word, that has, like others, received an abundant share of different ety- 
mologies, was probably first used among the Greeks by iEschylus, 625 
years anterior to the Christian era. J Amongst the Persians, Sacte was a 
general name for all Scythians;^ but in Europe, it seems to have been 
limited to the most celebrated nation amongst these people. || The Greeks 
long retained the name of Scytha3,Tr which they applied to those nations 
known to the Romans, at first as Get^ or Getians, latterly as Goths. 
Zosimus and other late Greek writers, always denominate those Scythians, 
who were called Getes by the Romans; and Dexippus, who wrote in the 
third century, entitles his history of their wars with the empire, Scythica.** 

When Darius made his famous expedition against the European 
ScythtB, 514 years before Christ, he found the Getae a warlike people, 
situated on the western shores of the Euxine, and having subdued them, 
he went in pursuit of the Scyths, who studiously avoided a collision with 
his forces. One hundred and eighty years afi;erwards, Alexander led 
his troops on a similar expedition, and found the same inhabitants. "I"!" 

From these invasions, the Greeks appear to have acquired their first 
knowledge of the Scythic nations. 

Pliny says, these people inhabited from the mouth of the Danube, in- 
land, and that their tribes acquired various names, the ancient denomi- 
nation being retained by those only who lived in the most remote and 
unknown parts. JJ Priscus, Theophanes, and others, speak of this peo- 

* Lib. i. p. 33. Falconer, in his edition, i. p. 48, remarks on ]Vv/iiu8uo, *• apud Ho- 
merum non memini me legere hoc vocabulum." Xylander had done the same. Cas- 
aubon thinks the word used was different, but of the same signification. Nomades is 
expressive of the shepherd state of society. Nomades and Georgians appear to signify 
pastoral and agricultural people. Pliny, iv. 12. The Greeks, according to Wachter, 
placed the Scyths towards the north, the Celts to the west, and the Celto-ScytheB in a 
middle situation. Newton says all Europe was peopled with Cimmerii and Scythians, 
before the time of Samuel. Chronology 

t Justin, quoted in a note on Beloe's Herodotus. 

t Pinkerton's Dissertation on the Goths. Scyth comes from Scytan ; which, in the 
eastern language, signifies a dart. — Wachter. Sciot, is in old Gaelic, a dart or arrow. 
— " Ogygia." Clelland says, Scuyt, is a man of the north. The Scyths were called 
Aerpata, " ab aeor, vir, et pata, CBedere," sic. Herodotus, ii. 12. See the etymologies 
of the name Scot. 

§ Herodotus, vii. c. 60. Sacae appears a corruption of Scythae. Appian, iii. 

II Pliny. Diod. Sic. ^ " Even until the 14th century." Pinkerton. 

** It has been supposed, that Scythee, Skutre, Kutse, are but different readings of 
GetsB. Beloe, ut sup. Get, or Got, according to Torfaeus, anciently signified a sol- 
dier, ft Herodotus, iv. 

tl Lib. iv. 12. The term Gothi began, in his time, to supplant the ancient name of 
Getae. 



28 THE DACIANS. 

pie under both the Greek and Roman appellations; and the philosopher 
Anacharsis, celebrated as a learned Scythian, was related to the royal 
princes of Getia. The two names were, therefore, certainly applied to 
the same people. 

" To the left (of the Danube) are the Scythee nomades towards the 
west, who are spread even to the east sea and India," are the words of 
Strabo;* who elsewhere says, the most considerable river which flows 
through Scythia, is the Danube : and this river is placed by Diodorus among 
those of Gaul, I where it certainly arose, and discharged itself in the 
Euxine, in the territories of the Getas, who lived on the north bank of 
the stream. Pliny speaks of the Scythians inhabiting a part of Moesia, 
towards Pontus; and those who lived in that country were afterwards 
classed among the Gothic nations. Herodotus says, where Thrace ends, 
Scythia begins, and extends westward to the city Carcinitis.J 

From this indefinite application of the term Scythoe, it appears to have 
been suitable to various tribes, and most probably was used to designate 
those who remained in the state of Nomades, while others, who were 
settled, became distinguished by peculiar names, as Pliny seems to have 
understood.^ It is otherwise scarcely possible to account for the remote 
and disconnected situations in which this people are found. 

Their vagrant habits were proverbial. Herodotus says, they had nei- 
ther towns nor fortified places, but carried their habitations along with 
them, so that their constant abode might be said to be in their wagons ;|j 
and these habits characterized them in the time of Ammianus, who des- 
cribes them as wandering over the wilds in their carts, whensoever and 
whither they pleased :1T a mode of life which Horace seems to envy.** 

The Daci, who lived contiguous to the Getae, are often confounded 
with them, which evidently shows that little difference could exist be- 
tween the two people. They are, it is true, frequently mentioned dis- 
tinctively, but we have Strabo's authority, that the terms were indiscrim- 
inately used;!! and Pliny tells us, that the Romans called the people by 
either name, " Getoe, Daci, Romanis dicti." Strabo says, the Daci 
" ab antique" lived towards Germany, around the sources of the Dan- 
ube,JJ which is considerably to the west of the situation which is after- 
wards assigned them; but it is apparent that the Celts themselves have 
been considered Scyths. Plutarch says, " the Celtos extend from the 
Western Ocean to the part of Scythia on the Euxine; that the two na- 
tions mingle together; and that, notwithstanding they are distinguished 
by difljerent names, according to their tribes, yet their whole army is 

* Lib. xi. p. 507. t Lib. v. 2. t Lib. iv. 96. 

§ Lib. iv. 12. The Scholiast of AppoUonius Rhodius, who flourished 230 years, a. c 
Bpeaks of 50 nations of Scyths. |1 Lib. iv. IT Lib. xxii. 8. 

** " Campestres melius Scythee 
Quorum plaustra vagas rite trahunt domos 
Vivunt, et rigidi GetiB." Lib. iii. 23. 9. 
tlLib. vii. p. 304. H Lib. rii 



THE SCYTHIANS. 29 

called Celto-Scythce."* That the Greeks denominated the northern na- 
tions Celto-Scyths, has been before observed. Anastasius, a writer of 
the ninth century, says the ancients were accustomed to call all the 
northern region Scythia, where are the Goths and Danes ;| and Ortellius 
remarks, " Celtas cum Scythis, conjungit Aristoteles de mundo."J A 
line of demarcation has been drawn between the two people, at the point 
" where the waters flow eastward to the Euxine, and westward to the 
Atlantic ;"§ but they are so little discriminated, that a precise definition 
of their territories is impossible, and when we speak of the one people, 
we must " often include an idea of both."|| 

The Goths, or Scythians, are, therefore, an aboriginal people of Eu- 
rope, differing in some respects from their predecessors the Celts. That 
they were of the same race, but later in the stream of population that 
flowed westward, is the clear inference from all that the ancients have 
left us concerning them. 

Strabo observes, that the Greeks called the Getae, Dacians, and reck- 
oned both Thracians, because they all used the same language. Thrace 
anciently extended from the Danube to the Gulf of Corinth, IT and when 
the dispute between Erectheus, and Eumolpus the Thracian, who laid 
claim to Athens as part of his father's territory, was settled, it was 
agreed that both people should be considered as one, and that the mys- 
teries celebrated at Eleusis, the capital of Thrace, should be equally re- 
vered at Athens.** Thus, 3000 years ago, the Greeks and Barbarians 
were but beginning to consider themselves different people. The cog- 
nate marks by which nations of identic origin are recognised, were not 
effaced among the Scythic race long after the unmixed Celts had been 
confined to the west. When Xenophon finished the retreat of the 10,000 
among the Geta?, 398 years, a. c. the Greeks were then received as a 
kindred people. "fl 

The wisdom, the learning, the justice, and the clemency of the Scy- 
thic nations, have been much extolled. So great praise could not have 
been bestowed without some reason, and we therefore find many illustri- 
ous persons of antiquity were connected by birth with the Getic tribes. JJ 

The Celts, who were "the most remote inhabitants towards the 
west"§§ 500 years before the advent of Christ, retained the same posi- 

*In vita Marii. t Pinkerton's Inquiry, i. 192. 

t Geograpliia, 1595. He considers all the ancient inhabitants of Europe, Celts, anti 
quotes many authorities to prove all the northern nations of that race. See his map 
of Europe, &c. 

§ Caledonia, i. p 10. || Ogygia. 

II Thucydides, ii. 29. Hence Pausanias speaks of the Getse obtaining " that part of 
Thrace which is beyond the Ister," i. c. 9. 

** See Clarke on Coins, p. 6G, with his authorities. 

tt Herodotus, iv. 93, ap. Caledonia. Strabo, Lib. vii. says the Celts and Thracians 
mingled together. 

U Anacharsis. Menander, the inventor of comedy. Zamalxis, who wrote of a place 
of happiness in a future state, &c. &c. &c. 

§ § Except the Cynetse. Herodotus, iv. c. 3. 



30 THE BELGIANS AND GERMANS. 

tion when Caesar commenced the Gallic war, fifty-seven years befoic 
that era. At this time they appeared in three great divisions: the Cel- 
tae, the Belgse, and the Aquitani; distinct from each other, and sepa- 
rated from the Germans by the river Rhine. * We have here a proof 
of the gradual formation of several nations, from one numerous and 
wide-spread race; for the more ancient historians were ignorant of these 
divisions, and the terms, even at the above period, seem to have been 
applied more as local distinctions of the same race, than indications 
of different people. 

Diodorus relates, what he tells us few knew any thing about, that 
" the Celtae inhabited the inland parts about the Alps, and on this side 
the Pyrennean mountains, called Celtica; and those who were below 
this part, southward to the ocean, and the mountain Hyrcinus, and all 
as far as Scythia, were called Gauls; but the Romans called all the in- 
habitants by one and the same name of Gauls. "| Caesar, who describes 
the three nation^ as differing from each other in customs, language, and 
laws, at the same time says, that the whole people continued to denomi- 
nate themselves Celtae, which term was also sometimes used by the Ro- 
mans with the more familiar appellation of Galli, as other writers also 
notice. J 

Ammianus Marcellinus, who lived 438 years later than Caesar, thinks 
it rather a matter of conjecture than of fact, that Gaul was inhabited by 
three sorts of people, and he as a soldier, had often come in contact with 
their troops, and had served in Gaul and Germany, along with numer- 
ous bodies of Celtic auxiliaries. 

An examination of the ancient historians and geographers, will show 
the positions of the three nations, and wherein they differed t'rom each 
other, and from the people who dwelt around them. 

From the Garonne to the Seine and Marne was the possession of the 
Celt.e, who retained their ancient and appropriate name, as they did also 
that of their country, which was called Celtica. From the Seine to the 
Rhine were the territories of the BELGiE, who were the most celebrated 
nation of Gaul. This people believed themselves descended of the Ger- 
MANXi, from whom they were only separated by the Rhine; but in those 
ancient times, when the Germans are said to have sent this colony 
across the river to settle in Belgica, were they not themselves Celtae, 
with whom they retained the common tradition of being indigenous ?§ 
Dio Nicseus says, that, in the most ancient times, the inhabitants of both 
sides of the Rhine called themselves by the same name, Celts; and he 
himself calls the Belgians, Celtics. || Josephus calls the German legion, 

* Csesar de Bello Gallico, i. t Lib. v. c. 2, 

I De Bello Gallico. Pliny, iv. 

§ Tacitus de Moribus Germanorum. Like the Celts, they also affected a celestial 
crigin. In their old poems they celebrated Tuisto, a god sprung from the earth, and 
nis son, Mannus, as their first parents. 

II Quoted in Ritson's Memoirs of the Celts. 



THE BELGIANS AND GERMANS. 31 

which formed Caligula's body guard, the Celtic; and Ortellius, who 
cite? many authorities, says the unanimous opinion of all historians is, 
that those called Gauls and Germans were Celts. * Strabo found the 
two people closely resembled each other in manners and personal ap- 
pearance, from which he conceived that the Germans had been rightly 
named the brethren of the Gauls. His etymology may be wrong, "j" but 
the term was certainly imposed by the Romans, and never acknowledg- 
ed by themselves. J Suidas, in like manner, affirms that the Celts were 
also called Germans, but Schoepflin understands him to mean otherwise. § 
Many Gallic nations were settled on the German side of the Rhine, 
and one of the most considerable was that of the Helvetii, who are de- 
scribed by Caesar as in no respect different from the other inhabitants ;|| 
at the same time he says, they were not entirely similar to the Celts. IT 
This is inconsistent with what he has elsewhere observed of these colo- 
nies,** and perhaps implies no greater variation than what is observable 
between the remote districts of all countries; for throughout his Com- 
mentaries, it does not appear that the difference between the Celtic na- 
tions was very material. Tacitus, finding so many Gauls in Germany, 
endeavors to account for part of them, by saying they were vagabonds, 
who, being reduced by poverty to the necessity of leaving their own 
country, settled on the waste lands that appeared to belong to no certain 
proprietor. Caesar says, these Gaulish emigrants established themselves 
in the most fruitful places; but even had these tracts been entirely un- 
occupied, bands of robbers, however desperate they may have become, 
would have had some difficulty in taking forcible possession of them. 
The Germans looked sharply after their waste lands, and were by no means 
inclined to let strangers occupy even the most desert places. The poor 
Ansibarians, one of their own tribes, after an unsuccessful revolt, were 
not permitted to settle any where among them, but were exposed to all 
the Roman vengeance for asserting their liberty, and wandered about 
until they were utterly exterminated. H The probability is, that the 
Gallic colonies obtained peaceable settlements from the claims of nation- 
al affinity; and it may be proof of a good understanding between the two 
people, if it goes not farther, that several German tribes made common 
cause with the Belgic armies in the Gallic war. Tacitus has himself, in 
another place, acknowledged the close resemblance of the nations in- 
habiting both sides of the Rhine; and the tradition that the Belgians were 
a colony of Germans, may have arisen from some faint recollection of the 
progress of the ancient Celtae to the west of Europe. 

It has been much disputed whether the Germans are of Scythic or Sar- 

* Geo^raphia, sub Europa. He also speaks of" Celtica sive Germanica." See also 
Sheringham, de Anglorum gentis origine. 

t Lib. iv. p. 195, vii. p. 290. 

t Mr. Greatheed, in Archselogia, xvi. Clarke says the word signifies swordsmen or 
warriors § " Vindiciae Celticse." 

II Bello Gallico, vi. c. 22. IT Ibid. vi. c. 19. 

**Ibid. yi.ji. 10. tt Tacitus, Annals 



32 THE AQUITANI GAULS AND IBERIANS. 

matian origin. It is scarcely necessary to add much on a subject which 
has been treated with a greater degree of attention than it perhaps mer- 
its.* Pomponius Mela says, the Sarmatae and the Germanni were the same 
people, and Pliny affirms that they were anciently Scyths: the name 
ScythfE, says he, is changed into that of Sarmatians and Germans.f 
Pausanias remarks the nomadic state in which the Sauromatae lived, J 
and in which they bore so strong a resemblance to the Scythians, of 
whom, according to Procopius, they were but a tribe. Some of the Sar- 
matae appear, from Pliny, to have been in Pannonia, and Diodorus 
brings them from Medea; but they may, with some propriety, be said to 
have perambulated rather than inhabited a country. § 

The extent of Germania in later times seems not to have been very 
well ascertained. It was called Lochlin, or Lychlin, by the British 
tribes; a name that repeatedly occurs in the works of the bards, and was 
extended to Scandinavia. A Gaelic MS., of the ninth or tenth century, 
describes Gaul and Lochlin as one and the same country, only divided 
by the Rhine. [j 

The Aquitani, the third division of the Celtae, were situated between 
the river Garonne and the Pyrennean mountains, and they called their 
country Aremorica.lT The most considerable difference between the 
Gauls was found in the inhabitants of this district, who resembled the 
Iberians more than the other Celts.** 

This personal resemblance of the two nations may have arisen from 
their vicinity to each other, and a different complexion from the northern 
Gauls appears to have been the effect of a warmer climate; but a better 
reason for the similarity may be found in the authorities already quoted, 
as well as in others, where it appears that the Iberians were themselves 
originally Celtae, who, crossing the Pyrennees, acquired the name of Cel- 
tiberi, or rather Celtae-Iberi; the inhabitants of both sides of these moun- 
tains living in amity and friendship, intermarrying, and wearing the same 
dress, the Celts inhabiting the accessible parts of the mountain itself ff 
Ephorus, according to Strabo, extends Gaul to the city of Cadiz. 

The Gauls, after having remained in the west and north of Europe 
until they had become very numerous, sent back theii; redundant popu- 
lation to seek for new settlements in the countries which were peopled 
by the first Celtic migrations, but where all recollection of their common 
origin was apparently lost, and inhny colonies were established in vari- 
ous places. 

* See the works of Dr. and James Macpherson, Pinkerton, and many others. 

t Lib. iv. c. 12. In lib. ii. c. 13, he expressly says, European Scythia comprehended 
Germany. tLib. i. c. 21. § Macpherson's Introduction. 

II Report of the Committee of the Highland Society on the Poems of Ossian, Ap- 
pendix, p. 309. Lychlyn, i. e. the lake of standing water, is the Welsh name for the 
Baltic. H CaEsar, de B. G. vii. c. 32. Pliny, iv. c. 17. 

** Strabo, iv. p. 176. 

ft Diod. Sic. V. c. 2. Strabo, iii. p. 1G2. Appian, in Ibericis, lib. vi. c. 2. " Gallorura 
Celtae miscentes nomen Iberis." Lucan, iv. 9 



ANCIENT LANGUAGES. 33 

Italy itself was originally peopled by the Celtae, in their progressive 
advances to the extremities of the west. The Umbrians, " an exceed- 
ing great and ancient people," were the first known inhabitants, and 
were certainly Gauls,* and the progenitors of the Sabines, whom Cicero 
calls the flower of Italy, Like the Aquitani about the Pyrennees, the 
Celts dwelt on each side of the Alps. Near them were the Turinois, 
Agoniens, and many other nations of the same raccj" The Ligurians, 
Hetruscans, Venetians, Insubrians, &c. were undoubtedly Celts; but 
many Gallic colonies at different periods settled in Italy, where a nation- 
al relationship, in all probability, assisted them in obtaining favorable 
possessions. The territories of this people were called by the Romans 
Cisalpine Gaul; and when they had been subdued, and had obtained the 
privileges of Roman citizens, the province was distinguished by the name 
of Gallia Togata. 

The apparent variety of Languages among the ancient inhabitants of 
Europe, is advanced as a strong argument in proof of a diversity of 
races. The Celts were the sole people who, after their migrations, set- 
tled in the west and north of Europe, and spreading themselves over a 
large continent, they became separated into cantons or nations, that ac- 
quired or assumed distinctive appellations. As the learned Dr. Murray 
observes, "each horde soon multiplied into various nations, regulated 
by similar customs, and loosely connected by language." Various cir- 
cumstances operating on their" common speech, gave rise to peculiar 
pronunciation or dialect. J The change of old, the substitution of new 
words, and other causes affecting articulation, produce, in time, great 
difference between the speech of distant places in a:n extensive country; 
but among nations of identic origin, there must long continue a close 
affinity of language. That the Celtic and Gothic are derived from the 
same source is evinced by many works of profound learning, and if a 
resemblance or connexion between them is still to be traced, the similar- 
ity must have been much more perceptible 2000 years ago. Thucydides 
says, that before Homer's time, there was no distinction known between 
the Greeks and those called Barbarians; that the whole inhabitants 
closely resembled each other in customs, manners, and language, and 
lived in a good understanding with each other. 

The language of the Greeks and Thracians was anciently as much 
alike as their religion; and Orpheus, Musseus, with several other poets, 
celebrated as Greeks, were certainly Thracians.^ Ovid says that the 
Getic language, although much altered, still retained evident marks of 
its Grecian original. Wachter shows that the Celto-Scyths, being the 

*Servius, in Eneid, Solinus. Tzetzes on Lycopfiron, Pezron, &c. Pliny tells us 
the Tuscans won 300 cities from them, and amera, according to Cato, was founded 
964 years before the war with Perseus. t Polybius, &c. 

t M. Bullet, Memoir sur la langue Celtique, i. c. 4, says the difference of climate 
will alter a language. 

§ Orpheus is represented as a native of Thessaly, but this country was originally part 
of Thrace. Strabo. 

5 



34 ANCIENT LANGUAGES. 

most ancient Germans, and the progenitors of the Goths, Saxons, and 
other nations, " their tongue, although from the mutations of ages now 
very much altered," must have originally been the Celtic language.* 
The Anglo-Saxon itself, derived from the Ingevones, " is the maritime 
daughter of Celtica, and the first born, from her nativity neither entirely 
similar, nor altogether unlike." f SchilterJ and Gebelin § also prove 
this family connexion, "These vastly learned authors demonstrate, 
without intending it, that the Celtic and Teutonic languages had a com- 
mon origin. "II The similarity of the Greek and Teutonic has often been 
observed. This fact first struck Camden, Stephens, and Scaliger; but 
" Salmasius, Francis Junius, and Meric Casaubon, first inferred that 
the Greek and Gothic languages, which were so similar in many re- 
spects, must have come from a common parent; "IT and this evidence of 
speaking the same tongue, may be acknowledged as one of the surest 
proofs of original descent.** 

The Latin, which is composed, according to Dr. Smith, H of the 
Greek and ancient languages of Italy, affords a less striking resemblance 
to the Gothic. The dialects of Italy were derived from the Celtic, but 
from the late formation of the Latin the affinity is less obvious: yet 
Quintillian observes, that among the words derived from other languages, 
those from the Gallic were most numerous, and gives several instances. JJ 
The grammatical construction of the old Latin was exactly similar to the 
Celtic. Thus, pennai, aulai, for pennse, aulse, in the genitive, is exactly 
the fionnai, malai, of the Gaelic. In like manner the ablative was 
formed by the addition of d: pucnandod, prsedad, now pugnando, praeda, 
precisely resembling the cogadh, creachadh, of the Gaelic, ^§ in which it 
is to be observed that the final d is not sounded; and this quiescence in 
the old Latin is the apparent reason of its ultimate omission. 

If the various languages which ancient authors speak of, were radical- 
ly different, the number of nations and of races will be wonderfully 
increased. Mithridates, king of Pontus, is said to have learned twenty- 
two languages, that he might be able to converse with all his subjects; 
and Timosthenes says, that in a town of Colchis, three hundred nations, 

* Glossarium Germannicum, Prefatio, c. xxviii. 

t Ibid. Lingua Anglo Saxonica, cum sit ab Ingevonibus orta, filia est Celticae mari- 
tima et primogenita, natalibus suis nee omnino similis, nee omnino dissimilis, e. xli. 

t Thesaurus Ant. Teutonicum. § Monde primitif, ix. 41, 51. 

II Caledonia, i. p. 12. IT Ibid. 

** Clarke, on Coins, p. 77. The similarity of weights and measures offers to this in- 
telligent writer an additional evidence of identic origin. A Mr. Kuithan recently 
published a work, to show that not only were the Greek and German languages alike, 
but that the people were originally the same. Cluverius thinks the German is the 
purest relic of the Celtic. 

tt On the formation of language. 

U Festus calls a Gallic chariot, Petoritum. Pedwar, Welch, is four, Rheda, wheel. 
Thig is noticed by Cluver, Dr. Murray, &c. Caterva, a legion ; Cad, Gaelic, an army, 
Turva, multitude, &c. 

§ § Report on the poems of Ossian, Appendix, p. 263. 



ANCIENT LANGUAGES. 85 

each of a different language, met to traffic;* but these accounts are at 
variance with the express testimony which we find, of the close affinity of 
the languages anciently spoken in Europe. We ought, in most cases, 
to understand dialect only, an inference that is justified by the writers 
themselves. Strabo, who gives the Alani, an inconsiderable people, 
twenty-six languages, tells us the Getse and Daci, both very powerful 
nations, or rather the same people, had but one speech ;| and represents 
the Gauls, whose three divisions, according to Caesar, had peculiar and 
distinct languages, as differing little from each other in manners, and 
still less in speech.J St. Jerome says, the Galatians, who were un- 
doubtedly Celts, besides the Greek, spoke the same language as the 
Treviri, a people of, or bordering on, Belgic-Gaul.§ Herodotus says 
the Scythic nations resembled each other in their manners generally, 
but had particular dialects, and that the Sauromatae used the Scythic 
speech. II If this language had been radically different from that spoken 
in Western Europe, some traces of it would certainly have remained, but 
no specimen can be produced. The Gothic tongue undoubtedly sprang 
from the Celtic. Tacitus informs us, that in his time the Gothini spoke 
the Gallic language, and the Cimbri and ^stii used the British speech. IT 
That it was Celtic, is beyond dispute. Reinerus Reineccius, an author 
of credit, who is quoted by Camden, affirms that both Gauls and Cimbri 
used the same speech;** which, indeed, appears from those authors who 
speak of the people as of the same race. 

The Scythians, who were attacked by Darius, either spoke Gothic, or 
it cannot be admitted that either they or their descendants ever came 
into Europe. In this part of the world the Celtae first arrived, " and 
supplied a language; then, in the course of thousands of years, came 
different tribes of the same people, the language of each radically the 
same as the first, but from the lapse of time somewhat changed, "fl 

Nations that are favorably situated for commercial pursuits suffer a 
change in their language sooner than those who are inland and removed 
from intercourse with strangers. When manufactures and arts begin to 
excite the attention of mankind, there arise new ideas, and a necessity 
for new expressions. When the productions of one country become 
objects of desire to the inhabitants of others, the wants which are re- 
ciprocally supplied by the exchange of commodities increase with the 
facility of gratification; and hence, as the arts of civil life begin to be 
encouraged, new words are required, and language undergoes a gradual 
and inevitable alteration. Thus the speech of a people who are in a 
state of progressive improvement becomes much changed in process o/ 

* As quoted in Lewis's History of Britain, fol. 1729. When Diod. Sic. says of Han- 
nibal's troops, that they differed as much in tlieir humors as they did in their lan- 
guages, are we to understand him literally ? 

f Lib. viii. ^ Lib. iv. § Comment, on Galatians, ii. 

II Lib. iv. 117. Ti De moribus Germanorum. 

•*• Camden, Higgins, Lewis, &c. tt Higgins's " Celtic Druids," p. &i. 



36 ANCIENT LANGUAGES. 

time. Polybius writes, that the Latin was then so different from what il 
had been in the time of Lucius Junius Brutus and Marcus Valerius, who 
were consuls when the first treaty between the Romans and Carthagini- 
ans was made, that little of that document could be then understood.* 
But when a nation, on the contrary, is stationary in civilisation, the lan^ 
guage necessarily remains the same. 

The Romans were always studious to introduce their language into 
all countries which were brought under their dominion; f but they would 
have been less successful in producing any change among the Gauls, 
had they not been able, at the same time, to establish a considerable 
commercial intercourse. These nations found a stimulus to their natu- 
ral ingenuity, and a gratification to their avarice, of which they are 
said to have had a good share, by the advantages of a friendly inter- 
course and profitable trade with the luxurious Romans; and their par- 
tiality to the wines of Italy had, no doubt, a tendency to soften their 
CTiaracteristic dislike to innovation. 

It is equally customary, even in these days, to call peculiar dialects 
by the name of languages, as it is to generalize various dialects under 
one denomination. The Gaelic of Scotland, the Welch, the Irish, and 
the Manx, are considerably different from each other, and yet they are 
but dialects of the same speech, and the term Briton is common to the 
whole inhabitants of the island; yet the English, the Scots, and the 
Welch are distinct people, and they all use the English language, (ex- 
cept in the Gaelic parts;) but the dialects are, in some cases, so differ- 
ent, that they scarcely appear the same, and are, indeed, sometimes cal- 
led different languages. J 

The Yorkshire, and the west country dialects, have no great resem- 
blance to that of Middlesex; nor is the speech of the people in the north 
like that used by the inhabitants of the southern provinces of Scotland. 

Thus do we find a primaeval race, arriving in Europe at some unknowa 
and remote period, and filling with inhabitants a vast extent of territory 
Different divisions of these aborigines acquired distinct names with ap- 
propriate possessions, and, in the lapse of ages, became dissimilar in 
manners, in colloquial idiom, and pronunciation. A due consideration 
of these apparently natural and certain effects of separation, may prevent 
much unsatisfactory argument, that bewilders and perplexes the mind, in 
the vain attempt to find distinct and various races of men, where all must 
have had a common origin. The Barbarians appeared to the early 
Greeks and Romans, who knew little of them, under different lights, and 

*Lib. iii. 

t " So sensible were the Romans of the influence of language over national man- 
ners, that it was their most serious care to extend, with the progress of their arms, the 
use of the Latin tongue." Gibbon. 

t" The Scotch is not to be considered a provincial dialect, — it is the language of a 
whole country, — the common speech of the whole nation in early life." Edinburgh 
Review, vol. xiii. p. 259. 



FEROCITY OF THE CIMBRIANS. 



37 



were viewed as consisting of many nations: when they came under more 
particular observation in later times, there had arisen differences suffi- 
cient to justify a national appellation. 

There is, it must be confessed, a gloom around the early history of 
the Celts, which neither the writings of antiquity, nor the deepest inves- 
tigations of modern ages, are able entirely to penetrate. 

The faint light by which the Hyperborei, the Cimbri, the Scythse, and 
the Celtaj are presented to our view, is clouded by fable, and obscured 
by the conjectures of credulity. The polished Greeks and Romans des- 
pised and contemned all who were without the pale of their own domin- 
ion. It was only when they wished to subjugate those barbarians, or 
were exposed to their furious inroads, that they deigned to notice them. 
Then, the savage manners, and strange appearance of these nations 
made a strong, and perhaps unjust, impression on those who were more 
civilized.* The desperate exploits of the enemy were related by those 
who witnessed them, with all the exaggeration which fear could suggest; 
and the wonderful recitals were, it may be safely presumed, often height- 
ened by a desire to exalt the bravery and resolution of soldiers who had 
ventured to contend with such terrific assailants. The tremendous ar- 
mies 'of the Cimbri and Teutones filled the Romans with the utmost ter- 
ror and dismay, and people from whom they had so narrowly escaped 
utter destruction, were represented as almost supernatural. " No man," 
says Plutarch, "knew what they were, or from whence they came. 




They were of immense stature, with horrid countenances, speaking a 
language scarcely human. They advanced with a host that trod down, 
or swept all before them, and their bowlings and horrid bellowings were 
like those of wild beasts."! Such expressions betray the trepidation of 
the Romans, increased by the boldness of an enemy, that, passing the 
Alps as if by miracle, presented themselves in the plains of Italy, and 
marchmg towards Rome, threatened the speedy destruction of the em- 
pire. Yet it must be confessed, that there was abundant cause for ter- 
ror, after making allowance for considerable overcharge in the picture. 
The Cimbrians, it is further said by Plutarch, like the giants of old, 

*When the first alarm had subsided, their numerous hosts were often defeated by 
very mfenor numbers. Their great strength, and native valor gave way to the strict 
aisciplme and military tact of the Greeks and Romans. 

t Plutarch, of the Cimbrian war. Polyeenus. Mil. Strat. viii. 10. 



38 FEROCITY OF THE CIMBRIANS. 

tore up hills and massy rocks, and pulled up trees by the roots, to fill a 
river which they had to pass. Their women, too, who would rush into 
the thickest battle, and with their naked arms pull away the shields of 
the enemy, cutting them down with a sword or battle-axe, were not the 
least frightful part in the scene. Before such opponents, it is little cause 
of wonder that the Roman soldiers should not evince their accustomed 
bravery. It was with difficulty any man could be kept to his duty, and, 
as the panic increased, they began to desert their colors, and at last gave 
way in precipitate retreat. 




CHAPTER II. 

BRITAIN— THE ORIGIN OF ITS ANCIENT INHABITANTS 
HISTORICALLY DEDUCED. 

Various suppositions have been formed respecting the period when 
Britain first became the residence of human beings. The fact cannot 
be ascertained, and it is not important to be known. That this island 
remained for many ages unoccupied by mankind, and perhaps undiscov- 
ered, while other parts of the world were teeming with population, is a 
reasonable belief. Tradition itself seems unable to reach a period so 
remote, yet it is alluded to in the works of the Welsh bards. 

The Phoenicians, who were celebrated as maritime adventurers, are 
supposed to have been the discoverers of Britain, and to have traded 
hither in the most early ages. It may not have been impossible for these 
people to establish a commercial intercourse with Britain "perhaps a 
thousand years before our era,"* but there appears to be no sufficient 
proof of the existence of so early a communication; and the Cassiterides, 
or Isles of Tin, for which metal they are said to have chiefly resorted, 
seem erroneously to be considered the Scillies off the Cornish coast. 
"No one writer of any Antiquity," says Ritson, "ever mentions that 
the Phoenicians traded to Cornwall for Tin." It is maintained, that they 
were well acquainted with Britain; but it is also confessed, that subse- 
quent Historians and Geographers appear ignorant of this ancient cor- 
respondence, Dio says, the early Greeks and Romans did not so much 
as know there was such an island, t and to account for these inconsis- 

* Whittaker, Pinkerton, &c. M'Pherson and others suppose an earlier colonization. 
Carte fixes it 450, A. C. 

t Aristotle, who flourished 350 years before Christ, speaks of it both as Albium and 
Brettania. — Buchannan, &c. 



40 BRITAIN. 

tencies, it has been ingeniously conjectured that the trade was given up, 
and the way to the island lost for a considerable time. 

It has been asserted, that, at the period of this supposed intercourse, 
no part of the world produced Tin but the islands of Britain. Pliny 
mentions this metal as plentiful in Lusitania and Gallicia. Diodorus and 
Possidonius say that much tin was found in different parts of Spain; and 
Aristotle calls it Celtic, as a distinction from that of India. It was pro- 
cured in great quantities from the islands which Pliny describes as lying 
in the ocean over against Celtiberia, and which from this production re- 
ceived the name Cassiterides. Ptolemy places them under " the situa- 
tion of Tarraconia; " and Mela* says the islands, which for abundance 
of lead were so called, lay in the parts of the Celtici, a people of Spain. 
Strabo also places them opposite to Celtiberia. They appear to have 
been the Azores or Western Islands, anciently the Hesperides, a term 
descriptive of their geographical situation; for that the Scillies were the 
isles of Tin, certainly appears doubtful. These islands are in number 
upwards of one hundred and forty, but of the others there are but nine 
or ten. The expression of Strabo, who says, in his second book, that 
Britain and these islands are without t|ie pillars of Hercules, does not 
prove nor imply that they were near to each other. "f They are, on the 
contrary, mentioned as perfectly distinct; J and the opinion of the single 
irisula Silura of Solinus,^ being the Cassiterides of the ancients, perhaps 
originated with Richard of Cirencester, who applies the appellation to 
the Scillies. II A recent visitor says he " could 'discover no traces of 
mines or minerals, whether ancient or modern, in them." IT The historian 
of Cornwall confesses that the ancient workings which he believes he 
discovered, were "neither deep, nor many, nor large," and adopts the 
supposition of Ortellius, that the Cassiterides must have included Corn- 
wall and Devonshire. 

Mictis is supposed to be the Isle of Wight, where lead was also pro- 
cured; but Pliny informs us, on the authority of Timaeus, that it lay six 
days' sail from Britain.** Mictis was not therefore thelctis of Diodorus, 
which lay so near to the English coast that it could, at low tide, be ap- 
proached by land. Hither, therefore, he says the Britons conveyed 
the tin which they dug, from whence it was transported to Gaul.fl 

It appears, then, that Herodotus does not call these islands Cassiter- 
ides; but it is certain that Britain was known to both Greeks and Ro- 
mans, some ages before it became an object of conquest to the latter 
people, and it may have been visited by adventurers in much more ancient 
times.J J Little, however, can be elicited concerning the earliest history 

* Lib. iii. c. 6. t Lib ii. p. 129. t Pliny, Diod. &c. § C. 22. 

II He calls them Sygdiles. Borlase says the proper name is Sylleh. 

TT Cambell, in his ed. of Ossian. ** Lib. iv. 16. tt Lib. v 2. 

t+The author of Argonautica, who lived, it is believed, in the time of Pisistratus, 

about 570, A. C. speaks of Britain, or perhaps Ireland, under the name lernis. From 

Plutarch, de defect, orac. the Elysium of the ancients appears to have been in the north- 

,n part of the island. Homer says, Ulysses, in his passage to the shades, touched 



ITS DISCOVERY. 41 

of European nations, from the dark and mysterious intimations of anti- 
quity, the faint light of which is unable to guide us clearly through the 
wild dreams and fictions of ignorance, and credulity. If an enterprisinor 
navigator, at some distant period, had caught a sight of Britain or Ire- 
land, the Orkneys, or the Shetland isles; the obscure and marvellous re- 
citals of poets, and the inexplicable narrations and allegories of theology, 
would be conceived to have some allusion to the newly found, or lone 
lost land; and the ingenuity of succeeding ages, when farther discove- 
ries were made, readily applies the ambiguous descriptions of antiquity 
to places of which but an imperfect knowledge has been obtained. The 
conflicting and indefinite accounts are, consequently, reconciled and ap- 
plied, as credulity or caprice may suggest. 

The description of that island, which the Hyperborei are said to have 
inhabited, can suit no other than Britain. The island lay opposite to 
Gaul, and was as large as Sicily. The people used their own proper 
language, worshipped in groves and circular temples, played on the 
harp, and led the most happy lives. They had a great esteem for the 
Greeks, with whom, from the most distant ages, they had maintained a 
correspondence arising from certain religious connexions, in consequence 
of which, it is said, some of that nation visited this sequestered land, 
leaving many presents to the gods, and Greek inscriptions to commem- 
orate their mission.* 

Pytheas of Massilia, who lived before Aristotle, is said to have first 
discovered Britain, and Thule or Thyle, concerning which there is much 
uncertainty. This island is represented as some days' sail northwards 
from Britain, and should hence appear to be Shetland. j" Agricola's fleet, 
we are told, saw Thule as they circumnavigated the island. J Mela de- 
scribes it as opposite to the Belgian coast, a position in which Richard 
of Cirencester agrees, but strangely adds, that it lay beyond the Ork- 
neys. Alfred, in his Saxon version of Orosius, says it lay northwest of 
Ireland, and was known by few. That island has itself been taken for 
Thule, and the term has been applied to the Western Islands of Scot- 
land. Some have also contended that the name was given to the northern 
parts of that country.^ That Thule, in any of these situations, could 

at Caledonia, to which Tacitus, in Germania, alludes. — Pinkerton. Solinus says that 
an altar, inscribed with Greek characters, was to be seen in the north, which proved 
this, c. 22. The second Brennus, who led the Gauls into Greece, when Delphos was 
rifled, is thought by some writers to have been a Briton ; and Lemon, in the preface to 
his English etymology, p. xxiii. § 5, seriously relates this as the cause of the ultimate 
invasion of this island. Joseph de Gorionides, " de Hannibale," says that general con- 
quered the Britons, iii. 15, ap. Higgins, p. 80. But there were nations so called on the 
Continent. 

* Diodorus, who relates this from Hecataeus, a very ancient author, whose veracity, 
it must be observed, he seems to doubt. 

t So d' Anville understands it. Strabo calls it six days' sail from Britain ; Solinus five 
days and nights from Orkney. I Vita Agricolas. 

§ Essay concernmg the Thule of the ancients, Edinburgh, 1(^93. 
6 



42 BRITAIN. 

have been "large and copious in continual apples," as Solinus repre- 
sents, is incredible. Saxo calls Iceland, Thylen, while Procopius ap- 
plies the term Thule to Scandinavia.* Perhaps the name was given to 
the land which was believed the farthest towards the north, and trans- 
ferred to the islands successively discovered. It has been, indeed, 
conjectured that there were formerly some isles between the continent 
and Scotland that have been long since lost. The Saxonum Insulse of 
PHny are believed to have disappeared, in consequence of some natural 
convulsion, and the fact of Heligoland having been several ages ago re- 
duced to half its size, is adduced in support of this hypothesis.| The 
Welsh poems record the formation of Anglesea and many other islands 
by a dreadful inundation, and the island Plada, which seems at no dis- 
tant period to have been disjoined from Arran, carries in its name a 
proof of this disruption. Bladh, is a part, and Bladham, I break. 

The singular phenomena produced by the refraction and reflection of 
light on fogs arising from the sea, lakes, or morasses, are well known. 
Appearances of this kind have deceived experienced navigators, who 
confidently believed they saw islands in the distant ocean, and it is by 
no means improbable that ancient mariners may have had their senses 
so imposed on. The illusion is sometimes so complete that you may 
behold, with the most perfect resemblance to nature, picturesque land- 
scapes, towns, castles, &.C., and that some such appearance gave rise to 
the idea of a happy and fruitful country, the abode of the blessed, can 
scarcely be doubted. This "fairy land" was situated in the western 
ocean, and was familiar to the inhabitants of these islands, being denom- 
inated Flathinis and Hybrasil by the Scots and Irish. J One of these 
phenomena was seen, it is said, in the Atlantic, in the ninth century; 
and so convinced were seamen of the existence of one or more fertile 
and romantic islands, remote from all other lartd, that they have actually, 
it appears, been placed on maps.§ 

Had so singular an appearance been noticed in ancient times, it might, 
in some degree, account for the wonderful stories concerning the British 
islands, and the confusion respecting the Thule of antiquity. 

At what period Britain became inhabited, and from what particular 
district of the continent the first colonists arrived, are equally unknown 
and open to conjecture. While some writers believe it probable that the 
first inhabitants arrived a thousand years before Christ, others suppose 
a much earlier migration hither. Parties from the coast of Gaul may 

* Pinkerton's Enquiry, i. t Ibid. i. 204. 

t The Saxon Cockaigne seems to have been the same island which was also known 
to the French and Spaniards by other names. See " the Western Wonder, or O'Brazeel, 
an Enchanted Island," 4to. 1674. 

§ This singular effect of mirage on the sands of the coasts in the western isles is no- 
ticed in the Edinburgh Philosophical Journal for Dec. 1827. The Highlanders call it 
Dun na feadhredgh, fairy castles. Some remarkable appearances of this kind were 
seen near Youghal, in Ireland, in 1796, 1797, 1801, &c. 



ORIGIN OF THE INHABITANTS. 43 

have occasionally visited the island for the purpose of hunting, before 
permanent settlements were formed; and, even after colonies had estab- 
lished themselves, a long time must have been required to people the 
whole island. 

Brettania is first mentioned by Aristotle, and Brittia is the term gen- 
erally used by the ancients. It appears to be the second name, and is 
derived by Whittaker from the Welsh, Brython, divided; the Gaelic 
Breac, striped or chequered, Brezonec, the appellation of Armorica, 
the name Brigantes, AUo-Broges, Stc, being all related. Mac Pherson 
derives the name from Braid, extensive. In, land, Clarke from Braitoin, 
top of the waves; and the etymology of another writer is equally simple, 
but less probable: Stackhouse gives Bre, a hill. Ton, a dwelling; Bre- 
Iheim, in ancient Celtic and German, is said, by Wolfgang, to signify a 
residence; but Borlase asserts that no British word begins with B as a 
radical. 

The Britons, like the continental Celts, were ignorant of their origin, 
and believed themselves indigenous, a proof that they could not have 
recently arrived. Diodorus considered them as natives of the soil; but 
Tacitus, more correct, was of opinion that the first inhabitants came 
from the opposite coasts of the Continent. Caesar represents the inhab- 
itants of the maritime parts as adventurers from Gaul, and those of the 
interior only as aborigines, according to their own tradition. The Cum- 
ri, whom the Welsh Triads make the first colonists, are otherwise be- 
lieved to have been the second, and of a different race. That they were 
not, may appear from what has already been said;* and whether they 
proceeded from Aquitain, as some conjecture, from Tacitus,"]" or from 
Belgic Gaul, the only essential difference between these nations and the 
Celts consisted in name and iocal position. The aboriginal inhabitants 
of Britain must have been Celtic, for that race anciently possessed the 
whole of continental Europe. These Cumri could not have been a very 
large colony, or have occupied much greater extent of territory than 
Wales, for the appellation was not applied to other Britons. Accord- 
ing to the best Welsh Antiquaries, they came in on the Guydhel, as 
they term the primitive inhabitants, whose name proves their derivation 
from the great race who peopled the western world. The period when 
the Cumri arrived is unknown. If the term was "the hereditary name of 
the Gauls," and "the common appellation of all the tribes of Britain," 
it is in vain to look for a colony bearing it as a proper and peculiar 
name. When the island was gradually filling with inhabitants from the 
redundant population of Gaul, various successive arrivals undoubtedly 

* " No Cimbri ever landed here, except Gauls, so called. Those who broke into 
Greece appear to have been called Galli, Celtae, Cimmerii, and Cimbri." — Gen. Hist, 
of the Britons, p. 47. " No one has any right to it (Britain) but the Cumri, for they 
first took possession, and before that time there were no persons living in it." — Ancient 
Welsh Laws. Hu Cadarn brought hither the first Cumri. 

t Who perceived a likeness between the Silures and Iberians. 



44 CELTIC AND BELGIC BRITONS. 

took place. The Triads mention the Lloegrwys, who came from 
Gwasgwn or Gascony, as the next settlers, from whom the Welsh de- 
nominate the English Lloegr; but in less doubtful history, the Belgse 
appear to have succeeded the Cumri, who had been so long in the isl- 
and that they were considered, as they have styled themselves, the an- 
cient Britons. 

The Belgians are said to have arrived here three centuries and a half 
before the epoch of Christianity, and that about this period there existed 
a connexion between the two countries, is very probable. Divitiacus, 
king of the Suessiones, a Belgic tribe, who was alive in Cgesar's time, 
had a certain sovereignty in Britain,* which he visited, enlarging his 
dominions by the subjection of great part of the southern districts of 
England. 

When Julius Caesar meditated his descent, there subsisted a consider- 
able intercourse between Britain and the continent, by means of which 
he sought information respecting the country and its inhabitants; but it 
does not appear that he obtained very accurate knowledge of either. 
The merchants who traded with the natives were the parties to whom he 
chiefly addressed himself; but their personal knowledge of the island did 
not, probably, extend to any considerable distance from the ports to 
which they resorted, and the natives, we may believe, were not disposed 
to be very communicative. 

When the Romans landed in Britain they found the maritime parts on 
the south possessed by the Belgae, who were neither a race distinct from 
the Celtre, nor did they speak a language " altogether different." A 
better climate, and a degree of commercial intercourse, produced a me- 
lioration of condition; but we have no reason to believe that these ad- 
vantages had very materially increased the difference between the 
southern and inland tribes at the period now under review. Diodorus 
simply remarks that those who inhabited the promontory of Balerium, 
(Cornwall,) were more civilized and courteous to strangers than the rest 
of the population, by reason of their intercourse with foreign merchants. 
The Britons, like the Gauls their progenitors, bore a general resemblance 
in language, religion, manners, and customs, the strong and indubitable 
proofs of a common origin. The local appellations throughout the ter- 
ritories which they inhabited decidedly evince that "the British Belgse 
were of Celtic lineage." A Gothic colonization is, nevertheless, said to 
have taken place when the Belgae established themselves on this side the 
channel. I It has been shown that this people were but a division of the 
Gauls, and not to be confounded with the nations of Getia. Three 
hundred and thirty-four years before our era, the Scyths were not in 
western Europe, but remained on the shores of the Euxine, and the 
Gothic migrations from the east began about two hundred years after- 
wards. The Goths first came into notice as a fierce and powerful peo- 
ple in A. D. 250, before which time they were little kno wn to the Ro- 

* Bello Gal. ii. c. 4. t Pinkerton. 



THE BELGIANS NOT GOTHS. 45 

mans, and their empire on the Danube was not formed until A. D. 328. 
Previous to the descent of C^sar, these nations were still about the 
Euxine, at which time Britain had been fully peopled by the Celtae; 
and the silence of history attests that no important migration of the 
Goths had hitherto taken place. 

It becomes, therefore, certain that the first inhabitants of Britain were 
alike Celts, resembling those on the opposite coasts of Gaul, for, on the 
arrival of the Romans, the language, the religion, and customs of both 
countries were similar.* Had there, on the contrary, arrived a people, 
different in their manners, and so entirely distinct from the Celts, that 
"no tongues could be more difl^erent," some remains of that tongue 
would surely have existed to prove the event. The prevalence of their 
language seems to demonstrate that the Goths at some time came into the 
north and west of Europe; but had they moved in a considerable body, 
or settled otherwise than by a quiet and amicable migration, some authen- 
tic memorial of the circumstance must have remained. The Gothic 
tribes do not appear to have left their native seats earlier than perhaps a 
century before the time of Caesar, when Britain was stored with a Celtic 
population. At this time, the aboriginal race of Gauls were fast yield- 
ing to the impressions of civilisation — alterations in their language had 
taken place — the unmixed Celts were gradually confined to the west of 
Europe, and those to the eastward were becoming Gothicised. 

The Triads bring several other colonies hither at different times — the 
Brython from Lhydaw or Bretagne being the next in order of time to 
the Lloegrwys, and both were of Cumraeg origin. It is impossible to 
ascertain the periods when these tribes established themselves in Britain, 
but it is certain that the various Colonists were all equally Celtic and 
similar to the natives of Gaul. Such were the inhabitants whom Ccesar 
found fifty-five years before the epoch of Christianity, and the population 
was still Celtic when the Romans finally left the island five hundred 
years afterwards."!" 

The Belgoe, who possessed the whole south coast of England from Kent 
to Cornwall, resembled the inhabitants of the continent more strongly 
than those tribes who lived in the interior, and who were thought by them- 
selves, and believed by others, to have been e terra nati, or indigenous. 

Every succeeding colony obtaining a peaceable settlement, or, estab- 
lishing itself by force of arms, remained in the vicinity of those parts 
where it first landed; and the former inhabitants falling back, became 
confined to the interior. The most ancient residents of Britain were thus 
gradually forced to the west and north by successive arrivals from Gaul, 
and finally rested in Scotland, in Ireland, and in the mountainous regions 
of Wales. 

When the Romans penetrated northwards to Scotland, they found 

* Ccesar, Tacitus, &c. 

t " At the Roman abdication in 446, there was only one race of men in Scotland.' — 
Caledonia 



46 ETYMOLOGY OF CALEDONIA. 

the people of the same Celtic race as those of the south, but much more 
rude and uncivilized, being, in every probability, the remains of the ab- 
origines, who were forced northwards by successive arrivals from the 
Continent. It is a strong proof in favor of this hypothesis, that the an- 
cient Scots always retained the name of Albaxich, inhabitants of Alban, 
or Albion, the first appellation by which Britain was known, and that 
their descendants, the present Highlanders, invariably continue its use. 
Another argument of some weight is found in the fact that there exist in 
Wales certain words, used not only as local names but in common dis- 
course, which are only referable to the Gaelic of Scotland; and a cur- 
rent tradition is also found among the Welsh, that the Scots or Irish an- 
ciently inhabited their country. The Welsh call both these people 
Guydhel, or Guidhil, the appellation by which they distinguish the abo- 
riginal inhabitants to whom the Cumri succeeded; and this word, the dh 
being quiescent, is evidently the same as Gael, the term by which the 
native Scots have been always known, and which is certainly derived 
from the ancient general name of the whole Celtic race.* 

It was not until the successful campaign of Agricola that the Romans 
discovered the Scottish tribes, or obtained a knowledge of their country. 
The Imperial troops advanced sufficiently far to arouse the natives to a 
sense of their danger — to a general confederation — to a sanguinary and 
protracted, but successful, struggle for their independence. 

The most powerful tribe at that time, in the northern division of the 
island, was the Caledonian, which had the leading of the war, and, 
according to the accustomed polity of the Celts, gave name to the whole 
association. Lucan| is the first who mentions this people, whom he 
places in Kent. Tacitus, the elegant historian of Agricola's hfe, is the 
first who shows the situation of the Caledonians of Scotland. If the 
etymon which identifies this word with Guydhel or Gael, is just, the 
name may possibly have been applied to different tribes; but Lucan is 
believed to be in error, and has apparently misled Richard of Cirencester, 
who places Caledonian woods in Kent and Lincolnshire. 

Mr. Whittaker, adducing Florus, who also speaks of the Caledonian 
woods in Kent, Sussex, Sec, says, from Guidhil, a wood, came Gaeldoch, 
woodlandish, applied to those who inhabit " the precincts of an extensive 
forest," a term of which the Romans made Caledonia. This is ingeni 
ous, but it does not appear that " Caledon" hence "became the nation 
al appellation for all woods of the Galli in Britain. "J Buchannan's 
etymology is Caklen, Gaelic, a hazel tree, and hence the name of the 
wood from which the country was called Caledonia; but this great author 

* The Welsh do not denominate either nation Cumri. The Irish language is lesa 
similar to ancient or modern Welsh than it is to the Gatjlic of Scotland. — Dr. M'Pher- 
son. The Irish, however, from Vallancey, Coll. Reb. x. lib. iv., seem not inclined to 
admit that they are Gauls. t Pharsalia, iii. v. 67-8. 

t Hist. Manch. 415, Hist, of the Britons, and authorities. Another Antiquary of 
some celebrity maintains that no region was called Caledonia but the northern. — Pink- 
erton. 



GAEL ALBAMCH AND EIRINACH. 47 

IS corrected by Dr. M'Pherson, who observes that Caultin, and not 
Calden, is a hazel. 

The Highlanders have always been known as Gael, and their native 
country they have always termed Gaeldoch, the land of the Gael.* The 
G has usually the sound* of C, which brings it nearer to the primitive 
Celt, from which it is unquestionably derived; and whether it signifies 
the fair men,| the hardy or strong men, J the borderers, § the men of the 
woods, II the fugitives, IT the hill-dwellers, &c. &.c. &c. there appears no 
room to doubt that the Celtic Gael was the root of the Latin Caledonii. 

The Caledonians who led the united Gael to battle at the Grampians, 
possessed a great extent of territory. It comprised all the country from 
the friths of Forth and Clyde to the hills of Balnagowan in Ross. 

This powerful nation continued to inhabit the same province;** but 
other tribes came afterwards into notice, and, from the honor of conduct- 
ing different campaigns, alternately appear in the annals of their country, 
and engross the praise that various clans were entitled to share. The 
Caledonians, the Picts, the Scots, and the Meats successively stood 
forth to contend for their national liberty, or conduct inroads on the ter- 
ritories of their enemies, and hence the whole country appears to have 
been divided among a few powerful nations; but from the Tweed to 
Caithness, there were no less than twenty-one different tribes of Celtas; 
and when the Romans abandoned the island, Scotland was occupied 
solely by this primeval race. 

This division of Britain had not, however, at this epoch, received that 
appellation by which it has been since known. The term was imposed 
by others, but has never been recognised by the native inhabitants, in 
whose language the original name of the country has been always retain- 
ed. They disown the name of Scots, — they disclaim foreign extraction, 
— they acknowledge themselves Albanich, inhabitants of Albion, — an ap- 
pellation which to this day is given them by the Irish, who receive and 
appropriate, with justice, the designation Gael Eirinach, Irish Celts. tt 

Every probability is in favor of the opinion that the first colonies 
from Gaul were settled in Britain. The world might have rested satis- 
fied with the rational belief that Ireland, appearing, ever since it came 
under the notice of the Historian, in a state of civilisation, much inferior 
to its sister island, could not have been peopled by a more refined or 
polished race than the Celts; but Phoenician records, and other indubi- 

* M'Pherson in Ossian. — Dr. M'Pherson's Dissertations, &c. The word is Gaid- 
healtachd, in Gaelic orthography. t Cluverius, Germ. Ant. i. 14. 

t Kaled, British, hard, Kaledion, a hardy, rough people. — Camden. Pasumont de 
I'origine des mots Celte et Gaul, 17C5, says Celt is robur. 

§ Cilydion, British, Borderers. Lhuyd. |1 Buchannan and Whittaker. 

IT Cyliad, profugam. Buxhorn, in Ant. Brit. 

**Dio speaks of them, about 230, as the only nation beyond the walls, in the vicini- 
ty of which dwelt the Meats, who were only inferior to the Caledonians in power. 
Lib. Ixxvi. c. 12. tt Caledonia. Critical Diss. &c 



48 THE SCOTS. 

table proofs of Milesian and Heremonian dynasties of glorious splendor, 
impart very different ideas of its ancient condition. 

It does not appear to me that the honor of both countries is so deeply 
implicated in the simple fact of earliest inhabitation. If the people who 
first took possession of Ireland passed over from Scotland, they are yet 
to be ranked with the most ancient, and therefore the most noble Celts, 
as Galgacus called the Caledonians, who had indignantly retired, to 
protect their independence in the extremity of the land; for, in conse- 
quence of successive invasions from the Continent, the Irish were, prob- 
ably, at first compelled to cross the channel. The Highlanders are 
justly proud of being descended of the unconquered tribes; but, honor- 
able as this is, others may think that little credit is to be derived from 
having left their native seats and allowed themselves to be confined to 
the mountains. 

The Scots are first mentioned towards the end of the third century, 
by Porphyry. They are noticed by Ammianus Marcellinus in 360; are 
spoken of by Claudian about 390, and are generally supposed to have 
been first settled in Ireland. As the northern part of Britain did not an- 
ciently bear the name of Scotland, but was certainly called Hibernia, an 
inveterate, and apparently interminable war, between the Scots and 
Irish Antiquaries has long subsisted, and the disputants have advanced 
so much in defence of their respective systems, that any farther investi 
gation of the subject is peculiarly uninviting. It appears from Strabo,* 
Pomponius Mela,"]" Ptolemy, J &.c. that the northern division of Britain 
was considered as a separate island, a belief that long continued, and 
has proved a copious source of national controversy. 

The early accounts of Hibernia are suitable to Scotland, but cannot 
with any propriety be applied to Ireland: at the same time, that island 
was not unknown, as is apparent from Csesar, Diodorus, and others. 
It has been attempted to restrict the first writer's description to the 
Scotish Hibernia, but apparently without reason. The ancients had 
certainly a very inaccurate knowledge of these islands, and great con- 
fusion arose upon the full discovery that Britain was an entire island, 
from which Ireland, situated towards the west, was perfectly distinct. § 
When this had become well known, whatever had been said concerning 
Hibernia, or North Britain as an island, was naturally appropriated to Ire- 
land, to which alone it appeared applicable, the more so, from the simi- 
larity of the native word Iern,|| or according to the Greek form Juverna, 

* Lib. ii. iv. v. &c. t De orbis situ 

t Syntaxis, ii. 6. § See Goodall, in prefat. ad Fordun, i. ii. iii. &c. 

II It was called lern, lernis, and Iris by the most ancient writers, and does not ap- 
pear to have been called Hibernia before the time of Caesar. The former is evidently 
the original word, which, according to Bochart, is Phcsnician, and implies the farthest 
land. This agrees with the Gaelic lar-in, western island, and it is known that these 
two languages were anciently much alike. Lemon, in his Etymology, says from Ibh, 
west, comes Iber, Iberia, &c. applied to those countries situated towards the setting 
sun, or in the direction of that luminary, when it is eve. 



INHABITANTS OF BRITAIN. 49 

to the appellation Hibernia, which appears to have been bestowed on 
Scotland from its wintry climate, for Strabo describes it as " north of 
Britain, and the boundary of the habitable part of the globe, where the 
savage inhabitants could scarcely live for cold. " He also says its dis- 
tance from Gaul is upwards of 600 miles, an error that he could hard- 
ly have committed if his Hibernia was Ireland, for it is not 100 miles 
from the continent. It is evident that Ptolemy had once the same idea 
concerning these islands which he was able latterly to correct. In Scot- 
land, a noted station of the Romans called Hierna,* and locally situated 
in Strath Erne, added to the misunderstanding, that was yet farther in- 
creased by the erection of the walls, which being drawn across the 
country from sea to sea, as the boundaries of the provinciated and un- 
subdued Britons, kept alive the idea of two islands; the first division 
being called Britannia Romana, and the other Britannia Barbaria. 

Gildas, who calls the first "the Island," and "the Roman Island," 
terms the Scots and Picts " transmarini;" which Bede, who also speaks 
of " the Island " and " Britannica," as the southern part explains: " I 
have called them foreign nations," says he, " not because they live be- 
yond Britain, but because they are remote from that part possessed by 
the Britons; two gulfs intervening, though they do not unite,"! ^^^ thus 
he continues to speak as if there were two islands, when it was well 
known there was but one. Foreign writers, who only consulted the an- 
cient authors, propagated the error from their own ignorance, and those 
in subsequent times, who were better informed, have been consequently 
astonished to read of the island of Scotland. 

Fordun, Buchannan, and various other historians, have remarked 
that the term Britannia was applied to the Roman part only, for the 
Picts and Caledonians are not denominated Britons, but are called their 
enemies. J Those enemies lived in " the barbarous island," an appel- 
lation, which it may be presumed the Irish Antiquaries will with little 
reluctance allow the Scots to appropriate to their own country, which 
was that part not subject to the Romans, the inhabitants of which were 
reckoned "foreign nations," or those beyond the province. From a 
supposition that the Friths on the west and east coasts intersected the 
country, the idea of two islands first arose. It was the enterprising 
Agricola who ascertained that "the tide of both seas stretched an im- 
mense way to the interior, but were prevented from joining by a narrow 
neck of land." 

Abraham Peritsol repeatedly mentions the island Scotland, believing, 
as Hide his translator remarks, that the Tweed made two separate 
islands. § In the British Museum is a map, originally constructed in 
1479, which represents Scotland as completely insulated from the aestua- 
ries of the Forth and Clyde; and it is so represented in the cosmogra- 

* Now Strageth. Roy's Military Antiquities, p. 123. 

Hist. Eccles. | Eumenius, Panegyr. ad Constant, xvi. 

^ Itinera Mundi, c. 7 & 12. 
7 



50 THE SCOTS IN BRITAIN, 

phy of Peter Apianus, published at Antwerp in 1545, although " expur- 
gated " from error. Richard of Cirencester, better informed respecting 
this part of the kingdom, but still impressed with a belief in two islands, 
separates the country at the chain of lakes where the great Canal now 
is, carrying the Varar quite through from sea to sea, and placing the 
Caledonians in the farther division, that they might remain, as the an- 
cients described them, in a distinct island.* 

The name Hibernia was therefore originally applied to North Britain, 
and subsequently transferred to Ireland, or restricted to it, when the 
former country began to be called by its proper name, Albany, although 
it continued at the same time occasionally to receive the former appel- 
lation. In the Roman Martyrology, Saint Bean, who died in 1015, is 
styled " Episcopus Abredonise in Hybernia;" and this prelate was most 
assuredly a Scotsman, for it cannot atFect the question that the Bishop's 
seat was first established at Mortlach, and subsequently removed to 
Aberdeen. 

In the age of Alfred, the northern parts of Britain were called Ireland 
by mariners, f and the Highlanders were termed Hybernenses even in 
1180. From this mutation of names, the Scandinavian writers are sup- 
posed by Pinkerton to have confounded Scotland with Ireland. 

That the Scots were the primjjeval people of the island, and not recent 
settlers, does not seem to admit of dispute, and the appellation by which 
they were known must have originated with others, for it has never been 
acknowledged by those who are the remains of the ancient inhabitants. 
Albanach and Clan n' Alban are the terms, as has been observed, which 
they appropriate, and derive from the original name of the whole island, 
but which afterwards became restricted to a part only, and is now con- 
fined to the district of Braidalban.J 

The Descriptio Albanite informs us that the region which was corrupt- 
ly called Scotia, formerly bore the name of Albania, Argyle being part 
of it; and the Bishops of St. Andrews, it is known, were formerly styled 
Bishops of Albany. About the end of the sixth century the term Scotia 
began to supersede the ancient appellation, but the inhabitants continued 
to use Albany in their own language, and in Latin. In the work of 
Hegesippus on the destruction of Jerusalem, which Sir George Mac- 
kenzie thinks is of the time of Hadrian, about 127, but John F. Grono- 
vius asserts to be of the age of Theodosius, 395, Josephus tells the 
Jews that the mountains of Scotland tremble at the Roman name, which 
seems to be the first time the word is used. 

Bede states that Aidan and his successors. Bishops of lona, who 
preached the Gospel to the Northumbrians, came from Scotland, in 
which country that island was certainly then as it is now. Alcuin and 

*See the engraved maps in Henry's Hist, of Britain, Pinkerton's Enquiry, &c. 
t Barrington's Orosius, in Caledonia, i. 338. 

JThe Albani of the Romans inhabited Braidalban, the west parts of Perth, and east 
parts of Argyleshire. 



AND IN IRELAND. 51 

Eginhart, who wrote in the end of the eighth century, use this name, 
but the Irish apply all these passages to their own country ; and Pinker- 
ton, with his usual confidence, maintains that " there is not one authori- 
ty for the name of Scotland before the eleventh century." 

Usher made a similar assertion, contending that Prosper and others, 
who distinguish the country of the Scots from Britain, speak of Ireland. 
Palladius, who was ordained by Pope Ccelestine as the first Bishop of 
the Scots, is said by the Irish to have been sent to them. This mission- 
ary came into Scotland and was buried at Fordun in the Merns,* where 
Pahly fair is still held, and where his shrine continued an object of pil- 
grimage till the Reformation. The " reges Scottorum," with whom 
Charlemagne corresponded,^ are asserted to have been kings of Ireland; 
and those who admit the authenticity of the celebrated League, affirm 
that it was made with the Irish reguli, for which I believe no authentic 
proof has ever been produced. J Two or three Scots Kings lived in the 
long reign of Charles; and if these are not the princes from whom he 
received letters, which of the Irish regalities did he honor by his alliance? 
The annals of that country do not appear to recognise any such corres- 
pondence, but successive treaties between Scotland and France, alluding 
to leagues ratified in the most distant times, ^ and the Scotish guard 
which remained until a recent period, prove the ancient connexion of 
the two countries; — nay. Sir George Mackenzie says the original league, 
formed in 791, was discovered in an old register at Paris. 

Scoti and Albani were anciently synonymous, and Scoti and Hiberni 
were indiscriminately used; but that this last term was exclusively ap- 
plied to the Irish is certainly false. When Ammianus speaks of the 
Romans defeating the Scots in lerne, must we not understand Caledonia, 
with the inhabitants of which the Romans fought, but had neither their 
wars with the Irish, nor ever invaded their country. We must in the 
same way explain the passage in Gorionides where the Romans are said 
to have reduced the Hiberni to subjection. IT 

Gildas, in relating the devastation of Romanized Britain by the Scots 
and Picts, uses an expression which, however translated, does not fix 
the residence of these nations in Ireland. " Revertuntur ergo impu- 
dentes grassatores Hyberni domum," is usually rendered, "the impu- 
dent Hybernian robbers therefore return home;" and this home, if it is 
proved that Scotland formerly received the appellation, must have been 
the " icy Hibernia," whence they had advanced. Bat if the passage 
should be, as Gale, Bertram, and others, read from ancient MSS., " ad 



* Brev. Abredonensis. 

t Eginhart, vita et gestae Karoli magni, p. 138, ed. Francofurti. 

t Irish Histories. Chalmers, in Caledonia, i. 463, &c. &c. 

§ Letter of the Scots NobiUty to the King of France in 1308, «fcc. 

II See an article in the Transactions of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland. 

U Lib. vi. 17. 



52 THE SCOTS 

hibernas domos," to their winter habitations, it is a more satisfactory 
proof that the Scots who invaded the province were not Irish. 

Henry of Huntingdon says, that Caesar sent his legions " in Hiberni- 
am," but as this cannot mean Ireland, where neither that commander 
nor his troops ever were, hiberna, winter quarters, is substituted by An- 
tiquaries as the proper word. So the " hibernique Getae " of Proper- 
tius, instead of alluding to the people of Ireland, is believed merely to 
characterize the Getians as living in a wintry latitude. If Bede uses 
Hiberni and Scoti for Irish only, how can it be reconciled with his ex- 
planation of " transmarini? " 

The name of Scots was common to the Irish Gael as well as to those 
of Albany;* and this general application of the term has greatly per- 
plexed the ancient history of Scotland, — "the confusion which it has 
introduced is eternal and irremediable." It seems, however, certain 
that Ireland received its first population from Albion. Diodorus says, 
Iris ^yas inhabited by Britons; and Richard of Cirencester informs us 
that the Scots of that island were those who were forced, on the arrival 
of the Belgs, to leave their native country. Most of these emigrants, 
it is probable, passed over from Scotland, where the two islands ap- 
proximate so closely; and of which the similarity in dialect, and some 
other circumstances, according to Sir William Petty, "f are evidence. 

An intimate connexion has existed from the most remote times be- 
tween the people of both countries, who were related by intermarriages, 
and whose language and customs were, for ages, perfectly alike; but 
the intercourse which has always continued between the adjacent parts 
of Scotland and Ireland, affords no proof that Albany received its in- 
habitants from "the western land." 

The Irish extract of the Scots is, notwithstanding, very keenly con- 
tended for by many able writers, and the arguments are chiefly founded 
on the ambiguous use of the term Hiberni, and the History of the King- 
dom of Dalriada, or that of the Scots before the seat of government 
was transferred from Argyle to the Low Country. Bede tells us the 
Scots arrived from Ireland in that part of the West Highlands now call- 
ed Argyle, where they settled under Reuda or Riada, and were from 
him denominated Dalreudini, being the Jirst Scots who ever were in 
Britain. This is the venerable ecclesiastic's account, in which he is 
not corroborated by any authorities equally respectable. Tighearnach, 
the Ulster Annals, Flan of Bute, and other ancient historians and doc- 
uments, are silent respecting this expedition. The district where the 
colony established itself was denominated Ergadia, or Argathel, a word 
apparently derived from lar Gael, the western Celts. The Irish call 
the inhabitants simply the Gael of the hills, or high country, which they 
designate as Ard na n' Gaodhal, the heights of the Gaedhelians, and 
have never applied to these people their own appellation Eirinach, which 

* Gir. Cambrensis. t Political Anatomy of Ireland. 



OF DALRIADA OR ARGYLE. 53 

Dr M'Pherson has well remarked no Highlander has ever yet called 
himself. 

The Scots are represented by Eumenius and Sidonius Appollinaris as 
one of the nations with whom Caesar contended. Alfred, in his version 
of Orosius, says, Severus often fought with Picts and Scots; and Fabiiis 
Ethelwerd says, that Claudius was opposed by these nations, a sufficient 
proof of their antiquity in this country. The Irish were called both 
Scoti and Gaidheli; but the Scots of Ireland are distinguished from those 
of Britain, who were otherwise denominated Hiberni, a term that was 
also common to the people of Ulster. Andrew, Bishop of Caithness, 
from whom Cambrensis had his information, told him that the people of 
Argyle were called Hybernenses, and their country Arregathel " quasi 
margo Scottorum seu Hybernensium."* Bede calls this part of the 
country "the province of the Northern Scots," from which it may ap- 
pear that these people were to be found elsewhere. Orosius calls the 
inhabitants of Anglesea, Scots, which Buchannan notices. All the Irish 
were not Scoti, but the Dalriads are so called by Bede, Adamnan, and 
others; and Giraldus Cambrensis informs us it was applied as a special 
name. From other authorities, we find that these people were also 
known as Albanach. 

The first arrival of the Scots in Argyle is said to have taken place in 
258; t but it is more generally believed to have happened later. We 
find that, about 210, a settlement was formed by the Picts in the North 
of Ireland, which Bede considers as their original seat; and in this part 
of the island there was a little kingdom called Dalriada, which comprised 
the present county of Antrim and some neighboring districts, and is al- 
lowed to have been subject to the British Scots until it was at last an- 
nexed to the kingdom of Ulster. 

It is acknowledged that Caledonii, Picti, Albani, and Scoti were 
synonymous appellations, or nearly so. It is not, therefore, very evident 
that " in the time of Bede only the Dalriads were properly Scots;" it is 
still less apparent that they were Irish. The Picts of Ireland, and it 
should seem of Scotland also, were termed Crutheni, or Cruithnich, a 
word implying corn, or wheat eaters, in allusion to their practice of ag- 
riculture. The former were established in a little principality, between 
which and the kingdom in Scotland there was kept up a friendly inter- 
course. O'Conner says that the connexions between the Crutheni of 
Scotland and Cairbre Riada being renewed, he obtained a settlement 
among them. Bede says the Dalriads took possession partly through 
force, partly through favor. The Albanic Duan intimates that it was 
by " a high hand," that they established themselves, but other authori- 
ties inform us that they were invited over. 

From the name of the leader of the first colony, the territories where 
it settled are said to have acquired the name Dal-Riada, the tribe of 

* Descriptio Albaniae t Pinkerton's Enquiry. 



54 ■ THE SCOTS. 

Kiada, an etymology that does not very well agree with the idiom of 
the Gaelic language, and that otherwise is objectionable. We find it in 
the ancient annals written Dalaroidh, Stc. 

Loarn, the name of one of the kinglets into which Argyle was divided 
by Fergus Mac Eire, is said to have been derived from that of his broth- 
er; but it appears under the form of Lora or Lori, which otherwise oc- 
curs as an ancient local name. 

It is evident from both Scots and Irish records, that those who were 
known as Dalriads, and had been long settled in Argyle, were driven to 
Ireland on some occasion, about 440 or 446; and this circumstance, 
coinciding with the supposed entire expulsion of the Scots, has increased 
the confusion in this part of our history, and strengthened the belief in 
the Irish extract of the Scots nation. 

That the Scots were utterly expelled from North Britain, as repre- 
sented, is certainly untrue. The Roman Historians, and the national 
Chronicles, instead of showing that the Picts and Scots were at vari- 
ance, or that the one nation had been expatriated, prove that they con- 
tinued faithful allies, acting in confederation against the Romans and 
provinciated Britons, during the period of this pretended banishment. 
And here again appears a proof that the Dalriads were not the only Scots 
in Britain. Those, however, who sent them out of the country were 
obliged to bring them back at some period; and, if the national annals 
are allowed to be authentic, the return and accession of Fergus to the 
throne took place in the year 403; but those who have critically investi' 
gated Scots' history reject this epoch, and contend that this prince and 
his brother Loarn returned from Ireland an hundred years later, and 
reigned jointly, until the death of the latter left Fergus sole king of the 
province. 

The Scots appear neither as exiles nor a subjugated people, during 
the period when they are said to have been in banishment. When Vor- 
tigern invited the Saxons to assist him with their forces, it was chiefly 
to protect him from the Scots, * but the Dalriadae were certainly at first 
an insignificant community, although they afterwards became of more 
note, and, by their connexion with the Pictish royal family, they finally 
perpetuated the race of their own princes in the line of Scots' Kings. 
The Highlanders call Achaius, or Achadh, who reigned more than fifty 
years before the subversion of the Pictish kingdom, the king of Albany, j" 

Numerous etymologies have been given of the name Scot, which is 
thus seen to have been borne by the inhabitants of both countries Its 
similarity to that of the Scythae is striking, and has determined many to 
derive the Scots direct from Scythia. It is rather probable that those 
people, so remote from each other, bore a name which was expressive 
in the primitive language of Europe, but was somewhat varied in the 
primitive dialects. Florus writes to Hadrian, who was in Caledonia, 

* Nennius. t Stewart's Sketches of the Highlanders. 



THE ATTICOTS. 55 

that he would not wish to suffer Scythic frosts; and Nennius uses both 
ScythtE and Scotti indifferently : Porphyry also, in some old editions, has 
Scithica gentes. 

The name of the numerous people on the continent who were known 
as Skythae, has been, with the appearance of certainty, deduced from the 
Nomadic state in which they lived, and the similarity of this appellation 
to the Scuite of the Seanachies is apparent. 

In the extensive regions which the former people inhabited, pasturage 
was the sole occupation. There were no towns; but the people moved 
about continually with their cattle, having no settled residence. He- 
rodotus says, " they do not cultivate the ground, but lead a pastoral life;" 
nay, some of them, he declares, were destitute even of tents, dwelling in 
summer "each man under his own tree."* He afterwards observes, 
that the Callipidse, one of their nations, did raise corn, but it was not to 
eat, but sell. Strabo considers Scythoe and Nomades synonymous terms.*]" 

In the time of Ammianus Marcellinus, they remained in the same va- 
grant state of existence, when the Scots of these islands had become 
well known. " Some few of the Scyths," says this author, " feed on 
corn and fruits, but all in general wander over the wilds. Their wives, 
then" children, their furniture and houses, if they can be so termed, are 
on wagons, covered with bark, and they remove them at their pleasure, 
whithersoever they think fit." The Scots, in like manner, are character- 
ized by the same Ammianus, as wandering up and down, without any 
fixed place of abode; and the description is agreeable to the account 
that Nicoeus gives of them. Hence the propriety of the name Scuite, 
"the wandering nation," by which the Seanachies distinguish those 
Gaedhelians who had no fixed residence, for they made use of both ap- 
pellations. J The original word in Ossian is Scuta, which literally signi- 
fies, " restless wanderer. "§ 

That these people were not a particular tribe or nation, is evinced 
from the expression " Scoticse gentes;" and they ranged about at times 
with the Atticots, j] or Attascots, as some read, who appear from the 
annals of Ireland to have been also in that country, and who are suppos- 
ed to have been the Dalriads. 

The name of Scot was apparently given to that part of the population 

*Lib. ii. 

t " Gentes uno prius nomine omnes vel Scythse vel Nomades (ut ab Homero) ap- 
pellabanlur." i. 48. Falconer's ed. Choerilus, celebrating Alexander's expedition, 
characterizes the Sacae as " fond of pastoral life." Bryant's Analysis of Ancient My- 
thology, iii. 547. 

t Ogygia. § Carthon. 

II Porphyry, whose observation gives no reason to believe they were considered a re- 
cent nation in the third century. "The Attacots," says Marcellinus, "a warlike 
band, and the Scots, wandering up and down, committed great depredations." xxvii. 
c. 7. The name seems derived from Attich, inhabitants, coed, of the woods. Those 
who live in the woods are at this day called, by the Highlai:ders, dwellers of the woods. 
-Dr. M'Pherson. 



56 MiEATS 

of both Scotland and Ireland, which remained pastoral and unsettled, 
and was not a term of reproach, as some conceive, but an honorable ap- 
pellation. It was only those who possessed numerous flocks, and were 
able to traverse the country without restraint, who deserved it. Their 
riches gave them influence, and Scoti and reguli were synonymous.* 

The Scots of both countries are distinguished by Nennius, for they were 
certainly peculiar to neither. Ulster was the proper country of the Irish- 
Scots; between whom, and those of the West of Scotland, there long 
continued so intimate a connexion, that the people may be said to have 
anciently been the same; but the terms Scoti and Hiberni appear rather 
confounded than synonymous. The transfer of name from a supposed 
island to a real one, and the misapplication of passages relating to these 
different countries, have been productive of much confusion and obscurity. 

A great part of the population of Scotland and Ireland continued for 
many ages to move about for the pasturage of their flocks. In the latter 
country, the practice was remarkable even until recent times. Spenser 
informs us, it was a general occupation for the inhabitants to traverse 
the country, "driving their cattle continually with them, and feeding 
only on their milk and white meates.""]" In allusion to this custom, Gil- 
das observes, that Britain abounded with hills that were very convenient 
for the alternate pasture of flocks and herds. The Scots have been, 
and, from the nature of their country, a great proportion of the inhabit- 
ants must continue a pastoral people; but their wanderings have long 
ceased to extend farther than from the homesteading in the glen, to the 
shealings in the mountains, during the months of summer. 

The Meat^ were those who lived within the Walls, and their name 
was expressive of their local situation, being derived from Moi, plain, 
and Aitich, inhabitants, J although within the Roman pale they were 
scarcely subdued; and it was only about 368, that this part of the island 
was formed into the province of Valentia. The Meatte were of the same 
Celtic race as the other nations; and the Walenses, or people of Gallo- 
way, are their remains. 

They are supposed, by General Roy, to have become known as Picts, 
a name which appears to have been of wide application, and first occurs 
in an oration of the panegyrist Eumenius, to Constantius, on his victory 
over Alectus, in 296, and they are not spoken of as a recent people, but 
as having, like the Scots, been in the island before the arrival of Caesar. 
It was, indeed, an established tradition in Bede's time, that the Picts 
were the original inhabitants of Scotland; and, agreeably to this opinion, 
it is said that Pictland was afterwards corruptly called Scotia. 

The same Eumenius terms all the extra provincials Picts, and plainly 
shows that they were the same people as the Caledonians. When the 

• Bede. See also Innes's Crit. Essay. t View of Ireland, 1596. 

t Mac Pherson, in Ossian. Whittaker says from maean, middle, or moi, plain. In- 
nes translates it Midland Britons. The ancient province of Meath, in Ireland, seema 
to have received its name from the same cause. 



CALEDONIANS AND PICTS. 57 

Emperor Constantius came into Britain, he proceeded to repel the " Cal- 
edonii et alii Picti." 

Giraldus Cambrensis says that some assigned a period of 1070 years 
for the duration of the Pictish kingdom, which, reckoning from its sub- 
version in 841, will carry it to the year 229 before the Christian era. 

Herodian calls the Caledonians Picti;* and Ammianus says they 
were divided into two nations, the Deu Caledonii and Vecturiones, 
names which appear appropriate to their different situations. An dua 
or tua, north, Chaeldoch or Ghaeldoch, Caledonian, an appellation some 
west Highlanders, as Dr. Mac Pherson avers, continued to give to the 
people of Ross and Sutherland. A part of Drumalban is still called 
Drum-Uachter, and Uachturich, which has the same signification as 
Highlanders, is supposed, with the appearance of probability, to be the 
origin of Vecturiones, which has otherwise been written Venricones,"]" 
and, perhaps, Venicontes.J 

In the time of Geoffrey of Monmouth it appears the Scots were call- 
ed Picts generally. A passage in an ancient poem by Ossian, or some 
other bard, shows that the Caledonians did not reject the term. " Alas! 
that it was not in the land of Picts, of the bloody and fierce Fingalians 
that thou didst fall." 

It is believed that this name was applied to all the inhabitants of the 
North. ^ The similarity of interments in the Highlands and Lowlands, 
affords a proof of the identity of the ancient inhabitants, who were un- 
doubtedly Celts. Indeed, Innes is of opinion that the Caledonians 
were but a part of the Pictish nation, || which was subdued by Kenneth 
Mac Alpin, and is supposed to have been then utterly exterminated. On 
the contrary, however, this prince was styled, as his successors long 
continued to be, King of the Picts. IT He was, in fact, one of their own 
monarchs, and had a legitimate claim to the throne, being the son of 
Urguist, daughter of Hungus, King of the Picts, who was married to 
Achaius, King of the Scots.** 

Nennius declares that the Picts remained in his days; and the Bard 
of Malcolm the Third gives no intimation of their pretended extirpation. 
Their chief seat, about the year 875, was Galloway, a district which re- 
mained to a late period in a state of comparative independence, govern- 
ed by its native princes, and regulated by its peculiar customs. If 

The last mention of the inhabitants of this province by the ancient 
name, is in 1138, when they fought at the battle of the Standard. Rich- 

* D'Anville says they are not to be distinguished from each other. 

t Mac Pherson's Critical Dissertations. Another very plausible etymology of Den 
Caledonii is from dubh, black. It is said the Irish called the west Highlanders " DufFe 
Alibawn." Maule's Hist, of the Picts. Buchannan thinks Deu Caledonii ought to be 
Dun Caledones. See also Grant's Thoughts on the Gael. 

t Ptolemy, lib. xxvii. c. 7. §Whittaker. || Critical Essay. 

TT Tighearnach. Caradoc of Llancarvon, &c. ** See Pinkerton's Enquiry. 

It The princes are styled Reguli by Fordun, sub. an. 1159, &c In 1308, " Galwide 
was not parcel of the crown." MS. in Brit. Mus. 
8 



68 DIFFERENCE IN MANNERS AND LANGUAGE. 

ard of Hexham says the Picts of David's army were vulgarly called 
Galleweienses. Gallovid, says Buchannan, in old Scots, is a Gaul; 
and what the Scots call Gallowithia, the Welsh pronounce Wallowithia. 
So Talliesen calls the Principality, Wallia, and the Saxons called the 
inhabitants Bryt wealas, which they latinized Gauli.* The inhabitants 
were also called what, in fact, they were, Scoti,t and this division of 
Scotland was anciently of much greater extent than it is now. It com- 
prehended all the tract of land from the Solway Frith to the Clyde. 
From charters of David I., the town of Irwine, with Kyle, Cunningham, 
Renfrew, &,c. constituted part of this extensive district; and hence Gal- 
loway was able to offer so much as two thousand marks, with five hund- 
red cows, and as many hogs yearly, for the King of England's protec- 
tion, when, in 1174, they attempted to assert their independence on the 
Scots' crown. J Nor were the Picts confined to Galloway, but about 
the beginning of the twelfth century inhabited Lothian.^ 

The conjectures of etymologists are often as unsatisfactory as they 
are numerous. Investigations of this kind are both useful and instruct- 
ive when judiciously pursued, but they are often absurd or frivolous. 
The impropriety of deriving this word from the Latin Picti, painted, has 
been often noticed. These people could not be solely entitled to the ap- 
pellation, when the other tribes equally practised the custom of staining 
their bodies. 

It is easy to perceive that the nature of the country inhabited by the 
Picts, must have in time produced a difference between them and the 
Caledonians, although both of the same race. There were natural 
boundaries by which the two nations were separated, and which must 
for some months in the year have precluded all intercourse. It is not, 
therefore, singular, that people originally the same, should become dis- 
tinguished from each other, and acquire peculiar names. The nature of 
their territories must have produced a change in national manners, and 
rendered their avocations different. A native of the flat country of 
Moray or Buchan was not likely to be expert in those pursuits that were 
the favorite recreations of the people of the high countries of Mar or 
Badenoch; nor could a Highlander easily accommodate himself to a 
residence on the plain. It is the opinion of General Roy, that the Picts 
and Caledonians were the same people, who acquired different names 
from their local situation, j] 

The Language, from the same causes, must undergo a change, which 
m process of time will become very perceptible. It has already been 
shown that the languages of Gaul were but different dialects of the same 
speech; it appears equally certain that those of Britain were at one time 
the same. When we find the Gaelic, as used in Scotland and Ireland, 

* Whittaker, Dr. Mac Pherson, &c. Walsh, in German, is the name for a Gaul 
t Isodorus, Origines, ix. 2. t Guthrie, &c. 

§ Alexander Nechamus, quoted by Goodall, in pref. ut sup 
II Military Antiquities, p. 129. 



GAELIC THE ORIGINAL LANGUAGE. 59 

the Welsh, the Cornish, which is but lately lost, and the Manx, all 
variations of the Celtic, spoken in the British islands, we can readily 
admit the observation of Bede, that the language of the Picts differed 
from that of the Britons of Wales, and the Scots of Ireland, without 
giving up our belief in their national identity. Camden shows that the 
British and Pictish tongues were alike,* and the different languages of 
Bede could only have been dialects, a conclusion to which Buchannan 
came, for this reason chiefly, that none of these nations appeared to have 
required an interpreter. 

It is asserted that the original Celts were expelled from the low coun- 
try of Scotland upwards of 2000 years ago, by a people who spoke a dif- 
ferent language, and who are said to have "been of Cumraeg extract ;| 
if so, there ought to be some remains of their speech; but the local names 
in the east and south of Scotland are not Welsh, but Scotish Gaelic, 
and are " far too numerous to be the relics of a language, which has 
been expelled from those parts of the country for 2000 years." 

It has been attempted to prove that the Picts were Goths from Scan- 
dinavia, by whom the Saxon language was introduced, and fixed along 
the south and east coasts, and to support this system the public have been 
favored with etymologies " altogether imaginary and ill founded. "J 
Those who maintain the opinion and cite the languages of Bede, ought 
not to forget that he expressly says the Pictish was different from the 
Saxon; but the whole argument founded on the Saxon language of the 
low country, I apprehend, is overthrown by the fact, that in Galloway, 
the last sovereignty of the Picts, the native tongue which continued to be 
spoken in the time of Queen Mary, was Gaelic, for which Buchannan, 
being conversant with that language, is an unexceptionable authority. § 
Pinkerton himself acknowledges that it was spoken until lately in Carrick. 

The dreary forests, the sterile and forbidding wastes of Scandinavia, 
so far from having been the officina gentium, whence nations were sent 
forth to overspread and people Europe, and from which fecund store- 
house is said to have issued, that Gothic colony from which the Picts 
were descended, must have remained desert and ungccupied by mankind 
until comparatively recent times. 

Adam of Bremen, who wrote in the eleventh century, says, that even 
in his time, the shores only of Denmark were inhabited, the interior 
being an impenetrable forest ;11 and Gibbon asserts that Scandinavia, 
twenty centuries ago, must in all the low parts have been covered by 
the sea: the high lands only rising above the water, like islands. IT 

That Scotland, in the time of the Romans, and long after, was inhab- 
ited by Caledonians and Picts, as it has been since by Highlanders and 
Lowlanders, is perfectly clear; that both were of Celtic origin seems ab- 
solutely certain. Differences existed between the inhabitants of certain 

* Dr. Mac Pherson. t Pinkerton. 

t Dr. Murray's remarks on the history and language of the Pehts in Trans, of the 
Society of Antiquaries of Scotland, vol. ii. part 1. 

§ Lib. i. 11, II Diss, on the Scyths, p. 23. IT c. ix. 



60 INTRODUCTION OF THE GOTHIC LANGUAGE. 

districts, either arising from local position and peculiar circumstances, 
or produced by the intermixture of colonies subsequently arriving. The 
parts possessed by the Picts were better adapted for agriculture and 
commerce than the rugged wilds of Caledonia; and it is from their set- 
tled lives and attention to manufactures, that the Highland traditions 
represent them as an ingenious, rather than a warlike people,' An early 
change, therefore, took place among the inhabitants of the low country, 
for those pursuits invariably lead to mutations in language and manners; 
and the observation of a learned gentleman respecting the Gaelic is per- 
fectly just, — "Rocks, seas, and deserts, ignorance, sterility, and want 
of commerce, are its best preservatives."* 

It has been shown that the language of the eastern Celts on the con- 
tinent, became first corrupted by the Gothic, which was itself derived 
from the primitive Celtic. f " The most ancient remains of the German 
or Teutonic approach very near to the Moesa Gothic, "J and the Anglo 
Saxon was immediately derived from the old Saxon of Germany.^ 

The Gothic was long established among the Northern nations, and in 
England, before it was introduced into Scotland or Ireland; and in those 
early ages, it was so pure that the people of remote countries found no 
difficulty in understanding each other. In the time of Ethelred, 979, an 
Englishman could converse with a Scandinavian, and could not, from his 
tongue, know him to be a foreigner. H 

The inhabitants of the south and east of Scotland, advancing mto a 
state of civilisation, in consequence of an intercourse with England and 
other parts, were prepared, and, as it were, forced, gradually, to admit 
the Saxon language; but the vernacular tongue of the Picts continued to 
predominate. In the reign of Malcolm-Cean-more, towards the end of 
the eleventh century, none of the clergy could understand the Saxon 
without an interpreter. 

Improvements in commerce and agriculture induced the settlement of 
strangers; — the progress of refinement occasioned the introduction of 
many new terms, and paved the way for fixing, in the lowlands, the 
Saxon language, to which several circumstances greatly conduced. 

In 547, Ida, king of Northumberland, with an army of Anglo Saxons, 
took possession of the lower part of Roxburgh, and seized Lothian, a 
term which there is reason to believe was then applied to the south as 
well as north side of the Tweed. This invasion is, however, not likely 
to have made that alteration in the languagelT which is supposed, even 
although the invaders had settled in the conquered provinces, for they 
must, as it is admitted the colonies from Germany and Scandinavia did, 
have eventually merged in the Celtic tribes. Oswy, King of the Nor- 
danhymbri, or people of Northumberland, about 650, reduced the 

* " Next to valuable books and permanent records." — Dr. M'Pherson. 

t See p. 25 

t Jamieson's observations on Dr. Murray's remarks, ut sup. 

§ De Murr's Conspectus Biblioth. Glot. Univers. ap. Jamieson, ut sup. 

II Gunlaug saga. Heimskrlngla, ap. Jamieson. H Border Antiquities. 



ITS LATE RECEPTION IN SOME PARTS. 61 

Scots and Picts, who lived between the Tweed and Forth, and exacted 
tribute from them until 685, when the Picts recovered their possessions. 
During this period, the Saxon language, it is believed, first began to 
be used in the south; but on the Norman invasion, the Royal family 
of England, the principal nobility, with their attendants and others, 
who would not submit to the conquerors, took refuge in Scotland; and 
Malcolm married the princess Margaret, sister to Edgar Atheling, and 
harrassed the borders with fire and sword. So many refugees on this 
occasion accepted the protection of the Scotish King, that Simeon of 
Durham tells us the kingdom was " stocked with English men and 
maid servants, so that, to this day, there is not a farm house, or even a 
cottage, where they are not to be found."* On the death of the Con- 
queror, and defeat of the rebellion against his successors, many Normans 
also retired to Scotland, and Malcolm, with much policy, settled them 
chiefly on the borders of his kingdom, and in the towns on the east coast 
that were exposed to the frequent invasions of the Danes. " The towns 
and boroughs of Scotland," says William of Newburgh, " are known to 
be inhabited by the English;" but when an opportunity offered, he adds, 
" the Scots, from an innate hatred towards them, which they dissembled 
from a fear of offending the king, destroyed all whom they found." 
The Celts were averse to live in towns and submit to sedentary occupa- 
tions, or apply themselves to commercial pursuits; hence the Saxons, 
Normans, Flemings, and others, were generally the inhabitants of the 
Boroughs, and advantageously pursued those trades which the natives 
had little inclination to acquire. | Through their means, chiefly, the 
Saxon was propagated, for it had become the language most generally 
understood in Europe. It was, as it were, the court language during 
the reign of Malcolm, and the influence, which this must have had even 
in those days, is easily conceived. Besides, all our kings, from Mal- 
colm-Cean-more to Alexander II., lived some time in England, learned 
the language and married English princesses. 

To those who maintain that the Gothic was the language of the Picts, 
or who assert that the limits of the two languages have always continued 
the same, or nearly so, it is to be mentioned that, so late as the reign of 
Queen Mary, the Gaelic was spoken in the Gariach, Aberdeenshire, 
where it is now entirely unknown, and was even taught in the schools of 
Aberdeen. In Ireland, the nobility and gentry continued to use this 
language until the time of Elizabeth, or James the First. J The Saxon 
has continued to gain ground in both countries, and must inevitably, at 
no very distant period, wholly supplant the Gaelic. 

It is not the Saxon language alone that has excited the investigation 
of antiquaries; the Dalriads are said to have brought over their native 
tongue, which, according to some writers, they disseminated all over 

* Lib. ii. c. 34. t See all ancient Charters, and other documents. 

t Highland Society's ed. of Ossian. About 1619, the use of the Irish language, in 
deeds, was discontinued. Trans, of Ir. Acad. 



62 



THE SCOTS AN UNMIXED RACE. 



Scotland, a proof not only that the Scots' Monarchy was derived from 
Ireland, but that the people spoke a different language. Chalmers, who 
allows the Gaelic of North Britain to be the purest, believes he has 
proved the introduction of the Irish dialect, by citing a charter which 
refers to " Inverin qui fuit Aberin." This is any thing but satisfactory; 
he means to show that the Irish Inbhear supplanted the Scotish Abar or 
Aber, Inver, here used with in, an island or country, signifies the land 
which lies between the confluence of two rivers, and Aber, which seems 
to be the original word, is generally applied in the same sense. Aber, 
however, properly denotes marsh and boggy ground, but as this place 
lay on the east coast, it had been probably drained by the industrious 
Picts, and could no longer, with propriety, be called Aber-in. Abar is 
a compound word, from Ab, an obsolete Gaelic term for water, which, 
as may be seen in many names still existing, became softened into Av. 
Bar, is a heap, a height, or point. Now the Caledonians generally chose 
marshes as the sites of their entrenchments, and many Highlanders I 
have found yet understand by abar, a work, as of an earthen mound, a 
trench, &c. If, however, the language of the Eirinich differed from that 
of the Scotish Gael, which it is said to have supplanted, no tradition or 
valid proof remains to attest it; and if the Dalriads brought over their lan- 
guage, they did so effectually, for they have left no Invers behind them. 
At the Roman abdication of Britain, in 446, there was only one race 
of men in Scotland, the sixteen tribes north of Antonine's wall, and the 
five between the praetentures, who were in some degree civilized by the 
Romans,* 




The Caledonians and Picts were, therefore, from all that is related by 
the ancients, from the investigations of modern writers, and from the 
undeniable identity of language, two divisions of one and the same Cel- 
tic people; and I see no objection to our believing, with Innes, that the 
Picts were "the first known people of the North," although it is not so 
apparent that they were, as he says, "the second in order of time." 

* Caledonia. 




CHAPTER III. 

APPEARANCE OF THE COUNTRY— EXTENT AND PRODUCTIONS OF 
THE ABORIGINAL FORESTS. 

The Western side of Britain is mountainous, the east and south parts 
are champaign. These different characters are striking, and have long 
marked the territories of the ancient inhabitants and those who are min- 
gled with later colonists. The same, in some degree, is the case with 
Ireland. 

It will not be here attempted to account for the alluvial discoveries 
made throughout these islands, or hazard an explanation of various re- 
markable appearances. Whether the flood of Noah, or any other deluge 
or convulsion, has produced the difference between the former and pres- 
ent face of the earth, is not easy to be ascertained, but a singular change 
has certainly taken place.* Traditions, indeed, do exist, that the Scil- 
lies, and many other islands, were formerly connected with the mainland; 
but the fact appears as unsusceptible of positive proof, as the shock that 
is presumed to have rent Britain from the continent. 

Throughout the Western Isles, the Orkneys, and even in Shetland, 
the discovery of large trees that are dug from the mosses or bogs, has 
led to an opinion, that the woods must have existed at a time when these 
islands were dissevered from Britain, either by the workings of the ocean, 
or a sudden disruption; and without some such hypothesis, "it is not 
easy to comprehend, how trees could grow on these spots, of which the 
extent is so small, and under circumstances in which heath will scarcely 
now attain its full growth. "| Remains of woods have often been per- 

* See Brogniart's Works, «&:.c. 

t M'Culloch's Description of the Western Islands, ii. p. 268. 



64 FORMER APPEARANCE OF BRITAIN. 

ceived at a distance from me shores. Tiit: encroachments of the ocean 
were very remarkably proved, by the discovery ot a thick forest in the 
bay of Pulvash, in Man, where the trees were exposed after a violent 
storm. Those dug up on land, show that the woods of that island have 
been at a subsequent period overthrown by a north-east wind. At ]N i- 
wegal, near St. David's, in Wales, Gir. Cambrensis says, a furious tem- 
pest which blew away the sands on the beach, opened to view a forest, 
and on the trunks of many of the trees the mark of the axe was visible. 
If the Triads can be received as authority, they attest the formation of 
Anglesea, and many other islands on the western coast, by the bursting 
of the lake Llion, and allude to a period when the Orkneys were but few 
in number. 

At the period of the Roman invasion, from which we must date all 
certain information respecting Britain, the face of the country was very 
different from what it has since appeared. The small tracts which had 
been cleared of wood, in the vicinity of the towns or strongholds, and 
the very limited patches of ground appropriated to raise a portion of 
corn, were insufficient to materially affect the general appearance of 
nature throughout the island. 

We do not possess so satisfactory data respecting the country, or in- 
habitants of Scotland, as illustrate the ancient state of South Britain; 
for the partial knowledge which the Romans and others obtained, re- 
specting the regions of Caledonia, did not enable them to transmit much 
information concerning this distant boundary of the empire. 

A better climate, a less rugged country, and some commercial advan- 
tages, produced a certain territorial improvement, and consequent me- 
lioration in the state of the Southern tribes. A greater attention to 
agriculture, in a latitude more favorable to the operations of husbandry, 
constituted the chief difference between the maritime nations of South 
Britain, and the aborigines of the interior, who retained their primitive 
rudeness, and occupied districts where ■ the face of nature was less 
changed by the labors of human industry. 

Where the dense forests spread in natural wildness, and undisturbed 
luxuriance; where lakes and morasses are undrained, the land unculti- 
vated, and surrounded by vast seas; a clouded sky and a moist climate 
are the natural effects, and are very unpleasantly felt by those who have 
lived under the azure sky, and genial climate of Italy. The frequent 
and heavy showers that fall on the Western coasts are most remarkable, 
and occasioned a facetious gentleman who had resided several weeks in 
the country, during which he never experienced a dry day, to ask a 
person whom he met some years atlterwards on the continent, " whether 
it had yet ceased to rain in Scotland?" These sudden showers brmg 
down the mountain floods with a velocity that often occasions the loss of 
flocks, and sometimes of human life. 

The Roman historians in general speak of Britain as extremely un- 



OF SCOTLAND. 65 

pleasant, "damp with continual showers, and overcast with clouds,"* 
but Caesar describes the climate as milder than that of Gaul. Scotland 
is represented as of a most forbidding aspect, deluged with incessant 
rains, and clouded with exhalations from unwholesome fens; surrounded 
by seas that raged with tremendous fury, and forcing their billows to the 
centre of the country, foamed among the inland mountains. t The 
numerous lochs, or arms of the sea, with which the Northern part of 
the island is indented, give some propriety to this description; but we 
must regard these accounts as given by a people, who had an imperfect 
knowledge of a country, in which they never made any permanent 
settlement, and who exaggerated the details to magnify their military 
exploits; yet the scenery of Caledonia was too romantic and singular 
to escape observation. Its grandeur struck the ancients with won- 
der, and has always been the admiration of the lovers of the romantic 
picturesque. 

The Grampians, that appear an impenetrable barrier, have long been 
considered the line of separation between the well known divisions of 
Highlands and Lowlands; but there are other remarkable features that 
have excited particular notice. 

The Muir of Rannach, a district in Perthshire, extending from the 
hills of Glen Lyon to Ben Nevis, is a flat desert plain, about twenty 
miles square, surrounded by the highest mountains in Scotland. So well 
secured by nature is this district, that it was wholly inaccessible to the 
civil power, until after the events of 1745. 

Part of Assynt, and Edderachyllis in Sutherland, forming a tract of 
about twenty-four miles by eight or ten, is no less remarkable. Although 
in a very mountainous country, it is comparatively plain, but rugged and 
broken in a most extraordinary manner, and may be described, as if 
hundreds of great mountains had been split and scattered about by some 
violent convulsion of nature. J In certain parts of the Highlands the 
mountains have the singular appearance of being composed of loose 
blocks of stone, resembling an immense cairn. Some of the woods also 
are not unworthy of observation, where the fir is seen growing on the 
side of precipices, where no soil can apparently exist. In the fissures 
of the rock, this hardy tree fixes its roots, where it seems impossible 
either to take hold, or derive the requisite nourishment; yet the remains 
of ancient forests are seen in these situations, and owe their preservation 
to the inaccessible heights on which they are placed. The mountain of 
Ben Lair, in Ross, aflfords a remarkable example, and the rugged hills 
of Mar, in Aberdeenshire, display many similar appearances. 

Britain is described by the ancients, as "horrida sylvis." The name 
of Caledonia, if a plausible etymology before stated § is deemed con- 
clusive, proves the former wooded state of the country, which is more 
Btrongly attested by the remains dug from numerous mosses, and various 

* Vita Agricolffi, c. xiii. t Ibid. 

t Roy's Mil. Ant. p. 59. § Page 46 

9 



66 ANCIENT FORESTS OF SCOTLAND, 

local names derived from woods that have now disappeared. Scotland 
has so long been denuded of its ancient forests, that their existence has 
been doubted, when a thousand proofs from vestigia met with in almost 
every district evince the fallacy of such a supposition. It is true the 
Sylva Caledonia has disappeared, except the remains that are seen in 
Rannach, in Mar, in Abernethy, and Laggan, in which last place it still 
retains the appropriate name of Coilmore, or the great wood, and in part 
of Ross; but although some of these tracts are still more than thirty 
miles in length, they are but a small proportion of a wood, which once 
covered the whole central highlands. 

Many forests that no longer remain, or are reduced to a stunted copse 
wood, are mentioned in ancient records. From these we ascertain the 
existence of woods that formerly covered heaths, which beyond all 
memory of man have presented the most bleak and barren aspect.* The 
forests that were around Stirling, Forfar, Inverness, Elgin, Banff, Ab- 
erdeen, and Kintore, that overspread Buchan, Crimond, Cabrach, &c. 
&,c., are often noticed in ancient deeds. The great wood of Drumselch 
was in the vicinity of Edinburgh, and Etterick forest has long given 
name to a Sheriffdom. Nor was South Britain much less encumbered 
with woods; from Kent to Somerset, was one continued forest, and a 
dense wood extended over the present counties of Lincoln, Nottingham, 
Derby, Leicester, Rutland, and part of Northampton.! Ireland was 
overrun with woods; and the first employment of the colonists is said to 
have been clearing the land, and making room for themselves; and those 
who were distinguished by their activity in so laudable a work are cele- 
brated in the national histories. J In that country three distinct growths 
of timber, under three distinct strata of moss, are discovered.^ In the 
time of Cambrensis, it appears to have been still full of thick woods, 
some of which, at a later period, exceeded twenty miles in length. || 

The British woods appear to have contained nearly all the varieties 
of trees to be found in Gaul. Tacitus says that the island did not pro- 
duce the vine and the olive, IT but Ctesar excepts the fir and beech also, 
** and his authority, that these were not to be found in Britain, would 
almost repress scepticism. 

The beech is believed to have been unknown before the Romans had 
established themselves; but from its British or Celtic names, Faighe or 
Faghe, the latin Fagus, is apparently derived. 

That the fir must have grown plentifully in the aboriginal woods, there 
is abundant proof: fir cones are dug up from great depths, as well as the 

* See the Chartularies. Rymer's Foedera. Chalmer's Caledonia, &c. 

t See Whittaker's Hist, of Manchester, and authorities. 

t Leabhar Gabhala. Keating's MSS. Ogygia, &c. «fcc. 

§ Report of the Commissioners on the Bogs of Ireland. 

Ij Derrick's Image of Ireland, 1581. 

II Vit. Agric. c. xii. 

** " Proeter Faguni atque Abietem," not Ficum, as some read. 



PRODUCED THE YEW, THE OAK, 67 

irmnense '-juks of the trees on which they grew; and the bogs m wnich 
dre found, being in some cases traversed by Roman roads, were 
certainly formed before the arrival of that people. The remains of this 
hardy tree are found in great quantity on each side of these roads; to 
make which, they were cut down, and have even been employed in their 
construction,* But Caesar has been vindicated by a very intelligent 
writer, in the Transactions of the Highland Society of Scotland, who 
maintains that it was the pitch tree, the pinus abies of Linnseus, which 
Caesar speaks of, and by no means the Scots fir, which is really a pine.t 

The Celtic names of this tree bear no analogy to the Latin word, from 
which they could not therefore be derived, affording a proof that the fir 
was indigenous. In the Gaelic, the fir and the pine are called Gius, or 
Giumhus, and in the Irish idiom the term Finniduydh is also used. The 
fir was the natural production of this country, and formerly grew spon- 
taneously in Scotland, and the Northern parts of England. The ancient 
forests of North Britain appear to have consisted chiefly of this tree, and 
it has been but recently lost in some parts. It is now generally repre- 
sented by the Highland or planted fir, in the opinion of the late Mr. 
Farquharson, a good authority on this subject, — his estate of Invercauld 
comprising many thousand acres covered with this tree, the remains of 
the Caledonian forest. It is a curious fact, that the native fir is much 
deteriorated by transplantation, and that, to preserve its quality, nature 
should be followed, and the seed sown where the tree is to grow. Some 
of this natural wood formed the roof of Kilchurn castle, in Argyleshire; 
and when taken down, after it had stood above three hundred years, it 
was found as fresh and full of sap, as newly imported Memel.J The 
great woods of Glenmore and Abernethy, the property of the Duke of 
Gordon and the Laird of Grant, are reckoned the oldest and best in 
quality of any in Scotland. 

The yew, in Gaelic, lubhar, or luthar, grew in the woods of Britain, 
where the names of many places are presumptive proof that it is indi- 
genous. 

The oak, called Darach by the Highlanders, has been held in almost 
universal estimation, and besides its importance in religion, it must have 
been valued as affording a coarse food to the primitive barbarians. The 
respect with which the Druids regarded it, is well known ; even the Ro- 
mans retained that veneration, which they derived from their remote an- 
cestors. Pliny attests that mast trees were always held in the highest 
repute by that people. § 

It is said that the oak was confined to the south of Perthshire, the fir 
being the tree which prevailed northwards of that division; but oaks must 
have formerly grown plentifully all over Scotland, and even in the Hebrides, 

* Whittaker, ut sup. 

t Dr. Walker on Peat, Trans, ii. p. 7. The picea, or pitch tree, the Gauls termed 
Dades. Pliny, xvi. 40. 

t Smith's View of the Agriculture of Argyle, p. 156. § Lib. xvi. c. 3. 



68 THE ELM, THE BHICH, THE POPLAR, 

there being scarcely a district where the remains of the trees are not to 
be found. The extensive moss of Flanders, in Stirlingshire, was once 
the site of a considerable forest of this wood, over which the soil has ac- 
cumulated to a depth of twenty feet. A rivulet that bounds this tract 
on the north east, has exposed on its banks, trees of very large dimen- 
sions.* Its usefulness for strength and durability preserved the esti- 
mation which this tree acquired from its sacred character. The Tri- 
ads inform us, the birch, the oak, and the buckthorn, were not to be cut 
down without permission of the lord of the country. The oak most fre- 
quently appears in Scotish grants, for the erection or repair of buildings, 
the wooden work of all public and private edifices of consequence, being 
composed of it. In the reign of Edward the First are many donations of 
oak trees, which, in his assumed character of lord paramount of Scotland, 
he bestowed to repair the damage occasioned by his cruel wars. Long- 
morgan, now a barren heath near Elgin, was then covered with "the 
monarch of the wood," and at the head of Loch Etive are still to be seen 
some of these trees, whose trunks measure from twenty to twenty-five 
feet in circumference, although growing in a thin, arid, rocky soil. The 
elm is said, by the historian of Manchester, to have been introduced by 
the Romans, but it rather appears to have been indigenous; and from its 
Celtic name Leamhan, the Latin Ulmus is probably derived. In the 
form of Ailm, so closely resembling its English name, it is the first let- 
ter of the Gaelic alphabet. The broad-leaved sort is a native of Scot- 
land; but from a belief that the bark is a useful application for burns, it 
is now seldom seen of a large size."}" 

The birch, Beithe, in Gaelic, is reckoned a native, and its name is 
given to the letter B. The Romans are said to have introduced the 
poplar, the plane, the box, &c. Malcolm Laing, in his attempt to refute 
the poems of Ossian, asserts that the first was not anciently known in 
Scotland. It is certainly found all over the Highlands, and grows in 
places inaccessible to human footsteps, and from its name, Crithean, de- 
rived from Crith, a shaking or trembling, so unlike the latin Populus, it 
may be reasonably considered as a native production. The same may 
be said of the ash, Uinseann having no resemblance to Fraxinus, and 
so of others, as the holly, Cuileann, &c. 

In the lower parts of Caithness, a county that does not seem ever to have 
contained much wood, the vegetable remains usually dug up, are willow, 
hazel, and alder, or aller. The first was, most likely, a natural product 
The Celtic willow was small and tender, J and both Gauls and Britons 
were celebrated for the manufacture of wicker or basket work. Its name 
m the Highlands, Seileach, is not very different from the Latin Salix, 
or the French Saule. The second was also, there is no doubt, a native 
of Britain; from its Gaelic name Caltuin, little resembling the Roman 

* Stat. Account of Doune, vol. xx. p. 19. 
t Smith's View of the Agric. of Argyle, &c. 
t Pliny, xvi. 37. 



APPLE, CHERRY, AND VINE TREES. 6& 

Corylus, Buchannan thought the term Caledonia arose. From the third, 
Fearn, the names of many places in Scotland are certainly derived. The 
juniper, found in almost all countries, could not have anciently been un- 
known in this. In the Celtic tongue it is called Aitin. 

Apple trees, if not indigenous in Britain, were very early imported 
by the colonies from Gaul, where they bore excellent fruit.* The Hsedui 
of Somerset are supposed to have been particularly attentive to their cul- 
ture; and Avalonia, the ancient name of Glastonbury, called Awfallach, 
or the Orchard, m Welch, j" is derived from the British Aval, an apple, 
which is likewise the origin of Avalana, the name of a place in the north 
of England, and Avalon in France. 

It would appear from a passage in Ossian, that this fruit was well 
known to the Caledonians, but it is not credible that Thule should abound 
in apple trees, as Solinus writes, in the third century, if by the appella- 
tion is to be understood the Orkney or Shetland Islands. This term is, 
however, applied by many to the north east part of Scotland, and the 
county of Moray has long been celebrated for its mild climate and fruit- 
ful soil, Buchannan says it surpassed all the other counties of Scotland 
in its excellent fruit trees, and although not now so famous on this ac- 
count, it still retains much of its ancient celebrity. It may be reasona- 
bly presumed, that those trees which the natural woods of Britain did 
not contain, were brought from the continent by the early colonists. L. 
LucuUus was the first who brought cherries from Pontus, about seventy- 
two years before Christ, and twenty-six years afterwards they were car- 
ried to Britain. J Geen trees abound in some parts of Banffshire, where 
they are said to be of natural growth. § 

The vine was cultivated by the Gauls, who possessed several peculiar 
sorts, II at a very early period; but before the arrival of the Romans, it 
seems to have been unknown in Britain. Although there were numerous 
vineyards in England, even until lately, the early inhabitants do not ap- 
pear to have valued this fruit, and the Scots were precluded by their 
climate from rearing it. The eleventh letter, M, is called Muin, a word 
that is indeed translated, a vine, but is, properly, a bramble, or thorn. IT 

The Northern latitude of Scotland does not allow the production of 
many fruits, to be found in more favored countries, yet the climate is 
not inimical to their cultivation. The remains of aged woods are found 
in various places much nearer the sea, and on more arid and exposed 
situations, than where they can now be reared, but the difficulty seems to 
arise, at present,- from the want of shelter for the young plantations; the 
Highland valleys are represented as peculiarly congenial to the raising 
and perfection of fruit trees. Mr. Leitch, a gardener, who writes m 
1793, from Richmond, in Surrey, declares that wood strawberries, black- 

* Ibid. XV. 20. Whittaker. t Roberts, Whittaker, «Sz;c. 

t Pliny, XV. 25. § Agricultural Report. 

I! Pliny, lib. xiv. 23 II Armstrong's Gaelic Dictionary. 



70 DESTRUCTION OF THE ANCIENT FORESTS. 

berries,* &c. &c. ripen more early in these valleys, than in the mildest 
parts of the Low Country, and assures the nobility and gentry, that 
"there are vast numbers of tracts in the West Highlands, that would 
ripen apples and pears better than any in the Low Countries of the 
kingdom." "These Highland glens," he maintains, "are the very 
places adapted by nature to raise orchards in."| At Dunrobin, in Suth- 
erland, apricot, peach, and other fruit trees thrive well. Walnuts have 
ripened at Skibo; and at Morvich, in the same county, are many very 
old pear trees, that still bear good crops, of excellent quality .J We 
learn that David the First, about 1140, used to employ his leisure time 
in cultivating a garden, and in grafting and training trees. § 

The monks, who always paid particular attention to the good things 
of this life, while preparing themselves for the enjoyment of the next, 
had usually a good garden stocked with fruit trees attached to their 
monasteries, and their peaceful life enabled them to cultivate their 
grounds with much success. So early as the ninth century, the clergy 
of lona had prosperous orchards, which were destroyed by the barbarous 
Norwegian invaders. || 

Ireland presents many instances of the horticultural spirit of these 
societies; but in that country their labors were assisted by a fine climate 
and fruitful land. Caledonia never enjo^yed the advantages of a fertile 
soil; but as the late much respected Sir Alexander MacDonald, Chief 
Baron of the Exchequer, said on a public occasion, "its harvest is 
inferior to none in the rich produce of a manly race, and the fruits of 
talents, genius, and heroic virtue. "IT 

The British forests have disappeared from various causes. In the 
progressive advance of civilisation, and perhaps from the increase of 
population, considerable tracts must have been from time to time clear- 
ed for the purposes of pasturage, and for the raising of corn, which the 
country produced abundantly.** Sir H. Davy's opinion is, that the trees 
on the outside of the woods, which, from a free exposure to the sun and 
air, were much stronger than those in the interior, being first cut down, 
the rest from exposure to the wind were overthrown, and hence occa- 
sioned the formation of the bogs; but to the Roman operations in this 
island may be attributed the destruction of great part of its woods. It 
was a settled maxim with that people to construct roads, and thereby 
lay open all countries which they attempted to conquer, or that had 
been brought under their subjection; and in eradicating the British 
woods they had an additional and weighty argument for its expediency — 
the shelter which they afforded to the natives, and the facilities they 

* The blackberries in the Highlands are mucli superior to those found in the hedges 
of England. 

t Smith's View of the Agric. of Argyle. t Agric. Report for Sutherland. 

§ Fordun's Scotichronicon, lib. v c. 59. |1 Smith, in Stat. Account, x, p. 543. 

f Observations on the Highlands. 1814. ** Vit. Agri. xii 



DESTRUCTION OF THE FORESTS. 71 

gave for the exercise of that desultory and destructive mode of attack, 
for which the people were so celebrated. The trunks of the trees 
which thej felled, were found useful in the construction of their Iters, 
where they were carried across soft and boggy ground, and they are 
often found to have formed the ground work of these ways, by the sides 
of which the logs they did not require are often discovered. 

So early as the age of Agricola, the industry of the Romans in clear- 
ing the country of its woods was well known, and was bitterly complained 
of by the natives, who were themselves compelled to the work.* From 
this policy, wise indeed, but almost as inefficient as the erection of their 
vast ramparts, the aboriginal woods of Caledonia suffered material en- 
croachments The Emperor Severus, in his progress northwards, was 
particularly active in demolishing the forests which protected the ene- 
mies of Rome, and labored with such diligence in clearing them away, 
that it is believed he lost a considerable number of his troops from the 
fatigue occasioned thereby. Numerous remains are found, which, as 
they lie in his line of march, and as both roots and trunks remain on the 
ground, and evince that the trees could not have been cut down for sake 
of the land, are clearly referable to this expedition. 

In the moss of Logan, in the parish of Kippen, a road was discovered 
twelve feet wide, and formed by the trunks of trees regularly laid across 
each other; and north of the river Forth, in the moss of Kincardine, a 
road, apparently a continuation of the same line, has also been discover- 
ed, of a similar width and construction."]" 

Many extensive bogs in Perthshire are found to have originated from 
the labors of the Romans in denuding the country of its primaeval woods. 
The clay surface underneath the moss, which bore the ancient forest, is 
found to be thickly strewed with the trunks of huge trees lying in all di- 
rections, beside their roots, which still remain firmly fixed in their orig- 
inal positions, exhibiting visible marks of the axe by which they fell. J 

The forests of Caledonia, tliat escaped destruction from the Romans, 
suffered from the English armies in subsequent ages. Partly actuated 
by a similar policy, and partly from the spirit of rancor attendant on civil 
and predatory warfare, the troops of King Edward were accustomed to 
set fire to the woods. In Fife, they were destroyed, to deprive robbers 
of the shelter they afforded; and those in the north that belonged to the 
Cumins, were burned on the defeat of their faction by King Robert 
Bruce. ^ 

In Dumfries, most of the woods appear from their remains to have been 
consumed by fire, and in Caithness they all appear to have shared the 
same fate.jl It is believed, in the Western Islands, that the forests were 
set fire to by the Norwegians when leaving these possessions. IT Indeed, 
a general tradition prevails throughout the country, that the woods were 

* Vit. Agri. xxxi. t Stat. Account, xviii. 

I Stat. Account, xxi. 154. § Aberdeenshire Agric. Rep. 

i| Caithness Agric. Rep. IT Buchannan's Western Isles, p. 24. 



72 DESTRUCTION OF THE FORESTS. 

burnt in an extremely hot summer; and this is recorded in the Welch 
Triads, as the third calamity which befel Britain. 

In Sutherland, they have also been destroyed by conflagration; and, 
according to a tradition, it was occasioned by a witch, or magician, from 
Denmark, which may probably allude to some descent of the eastern 
marauders, who frequently paid unwelcome visits to that part of the 
country. The trunk of a fir tree, dug up in the higher part of Kildonan, 
measured seventy-two feet in length, and was of proportional thickness. 
The appearance of the root, encrusted with charcoal, proved by what 
means it had been levelled with the earth.* 

It is probable, that conflagrations occasionally took place in the most 
remote times. From the wandering and unsettled life of mankind, the 
woods were in danger from the fires of the houseless natives. Ossian 
compares the sons of Erin after a defeat, to " a grove through which 
the flame had rushed, hurried on by the winds of the stormy night, &c." 

The preservation of the ancient forests was scarcely considered of na- 
tional importance; and the acts of the Scots' parliament that were at 
last promulgated for planting trees, seem to have had little effect. So 
late as the commencement of last century, an extensive fir wood in Ar- 
gyle was considered of so little value, that an Irish company is said to 
have purchased it for a sum amounting to no more than a plack, or one- 
third of a penny per tree."!" 

The increase of sheep is thought to be a chief reason of the decay of 
the ancient forests. Trees do not now grow without the protection of 
fences, and it is a fact that the pasture has suffered materially where the 
woods have been destroyed. From these various causes, in many dis- 
tricts the landscape is destitute of this valuable and plea»ing ornament. 

* Sutherland Agric. Rep t Smith's View of Agric. of \tgvie. 






CHAPTER IV. 

CELTIC POPULATION. —PERSONS AND DISPOSITIONS OF THE 
CELTS— THEIR MILITARY EDUCATION AND INSTITUTIONS.— AN- 
ECDOTES OF THEIR BRAVERY AND HEROISM.— EXPLOITS OF 
THE ANCIENT CALEDONIANS AND PRESENT SCOTS. 

Many writers of distinguished reputation have maintained, that the 
inhabitants of the north of Europe were much more numerous formerly 
than they are now, the cold of these regions being thought more favora- 
ble to generation and conducive to robust old age, than the warm and 
enervating climates of the south. There appears considerable force in 
this argument, which is supported by the numerous armies which we 
find those people successively pouring forth; but the inquiries of modern 
philosophers into the causes affecting population tend to an opposite con- 
clusion. It seems impossible to make any accurate estimate of the 
numbers of ancient nations, for "the innumerable swarms that issued, 
or seemed to issue, from the great storehouse of nations, were multi- 
plied by the fears of the vanquished and by the credulity of succeeding 
ages. "* It is also to be borne in mind, that, on emergencies, every man 
able to carry arms was called into the field, and on all occasions, where 
military glory was to be earned or national liberty and independence as- 
serted, the Gauls were strikingly impatient for the combat. 

The precarious supply of food in those rude ages, is advanced as an 
argument of some weight against the probability of there being anciently 
so dense a population as we might be led to suppose; but there was then 
an abundance of game to supply the want of extensive cultivation, and 
numerous herds of domestic cattle afforded a plentiful subsistence to the 
wandering tribes. 

The sumptuous repasts, and variety of flesh meats, among the Gauls 
were subjects of remark, even to the luxurious Romans,! for they had 
•'the fountains of domestic felicity within themselves, and sent out plen- 



Gibbon's Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire. 
10 



t Diodorus Sic. &c. 



'?4 POPULATION OF ANCIENT EUROPE. 

tiful streams of happiness over almost all the world."* Whether the 
Celtge were more or less numerous than has been represented, the 
means of subsistence were abundant in Gaul; and if the Britons led a 
less pleasant life than the tribes on the continent, they will not be 
found, on examination, to have been so low in the scale of civilisation 
as many are disposed to believe. The Celtic nations have been always 
strongly attached to their primitive mode of life, and averse to the ad- 
m'ssion of any change, even of obvious advantage, especially if they 
conceived it had the least tendency to effeminate their bodies or lessen 
the temerity and contempt of death, on which they valued themselves; 
but they were not certainly either "unable to raise themselves in the 
scale of society, or incapable of industry or civilisation."! Their vari- 
ous attainments, and progress in arts and sciences, will be elucidated in 
the respective sections, where it will be seen that from these "radical 
savages,"! the Greeks and Romans learned many useful and ingenious 
arts. 

The Celts were neither "a feeble people,"! "O'' ^^^^ their population 
scanty. Pausanias says, that Thrace alone was more populous than 
Gaul,! and Herodotus had affirmed, that the Thracians were the most 
numerous people, save the Indians alone. The ancient historians repre- 
sent the Celtic migrations as occasioned by an excess of population. We 
learn from Caesar,^ that the Helvetians made war from this cause; and 
both he and Diodorus say, that the population of Britain was innumera- 
ble. Tacitus informs us, that Anglesea was particularly powerful in the 
number of its inhabitants. || From marks of cultivation on the moun- 
tains, and that have been discovered at some depth underground, it is 
believed that Ireland also was formerly well inhabited, IT but this is doubt- 
ful. Similar indications are observed in Scotland, and the Romans 
deemed a single legion sufficient for the subjugation of that island. 

"Who among you," says Titus to the Jews, "hath not heard of the 
great number of the Germans."** It was the chief pride of these na- 
tions to be surrounded by a numerous company of relations. To res- 
train generation and increase of children, or to kill new born infants, 
crimes of common occurrence amongst more civilized nations, were by 
these people "reckoned an abominable sin."!! The more numerous 
one's children and relations were, the more he was reverenced and es- 
teemed; among the Scandinavians, however, it was lawful to expose in- 
fants, until the eleventh century, a practice little calculated to make this 
rountry "the great storehouse of nations." 

Without asserting that Europe was more populous 2000 years ago 
than it is in these days, which, indeed, does not appear likely, it can be 

* Josephus, Jewish Wars, ii. c. 16. § 4. t Pinkerton. 

t Lib. 1.9 § Belio Gall, v. 10. 

11 Annals, xiv. IT Molyneux, ap. Luckombe, &c. 

'* Josephus in the Jewish Wars. 

tt Gordon's Translation of Tac-itus, de Mor. Germ. 



CELTIC ARMIES. 35 

confidently maintained, that the inhabitants were not thinly spiead along 
the valleys or dispersed among the mountains. Dense forests, it must 
be allowed, overspread great tracts of country, but a sufficient space was 
left uncovered, in which numerous tribes lived in all the comfort of bar- 
barous enjoyment. 

In the works of the ancients may be found statements of the numbers 
of the Celtic armies at particular times. The various legions of auxiliaries 
which appear in the Notitia Imperii, prove that, by the Roman conquest, 
neither Gaul nor Germany were depopulated, notwithstanding the long 
and sanguinary struggles which the natives made for their independence. 

When Brennus invaded Greece, he carried with him 140,000 target- 
eers, 10,000 horse, 2000 carriages, many merchants, and a great mul- 
titude of other followers, all of whom perished:* yet he led an army of 
152,000 to a second invasion, and 61,000 horsemen.! ^milius routed 
the Gauls and Celtae, killing 40,000, and ravaged their country, after 
they had, with an army of 200,000 men, twice defeated the Romans. J 
The Cimbri invaded Italy, with a body of 3, or, according to some, 
500,000 men, besides women and children.^ 

When the Helvetii endeavored to establish themselves in Gaul, they 
had 192,000 men in arms, the whole number that set out on the expedi- 
tion, according to a census found in their camp, amounting to 368,000. || 

The Suevi, a single German nation, was divided into 100 cantons, and 
could bring 200,000 men into the field. IT 

The Boii, according to Pliny, on the authority of Cato, had 112 tribes: 
in Spain he enumerates 360 cities. Buchannan, who cites Strabo, says, 
300,000 of the Celtse bore arms. CfEsar reduced under the Roman obe- 
dience 400 nations and 800 cities — the whole number in Gaul.** Jose- 
phus gives them 315 nations and 1200 cities. || 

When Caesar was preparing to attack the Belgae, he applied to the 
Rhemi, a friendly people, for information concerning the military power 
of that division of the Celtae. The Rhemi, being allied " by kindred and 
affinity, knew how great a multitude was promised," and gave him the 
following list. 

The Bellovaci were the most powerful of the Belgic confederates, and 
could bring into the field 100,000 fighting men; on the present occasion 
they offered but 60,000. The Suessiones were their neighbors, and 
had formerly been the leading tribe; they now offered 50,000. The 
Nervii also promised 50,000; the Attrebates 15,000; the Ambiani 10,000; 
the Morini 25,000; the Menapii 9000; the Caletes 10,000; the Velocas- 
ses and Veromandui 10,000; the Adnatici 29,000; the Condrusi, Ebu- 
rones, Caersesi, Paenani, who were called by one name, Germans, 40,000, 
making an army of 308,000 picked men. 

* Fragment. Diod. xxii. t Pausanias, x. 19. I Frag. Diod. xxv. 

§ Plutarch, «&c. Chatfield's View of the Middle Ages. || Bello Gall. 

U Bello Gall. ** Appian, in the Celtic Wars. Plutarch, 

tt Jewish Wars, ii. 16. 3. 



76 CELTIC ARMIES. 

At the same time another convocation of the Gauls was held, at 
which it was resolved to raise a fresh army ; but they restricted their 
force to such a number as might be easily regulated, and find the means 
of subsistence with facihty. They accordingly made the following lev- 
ies. — The ^duans and their clients, the Segusians, the Ambivarets, the 
Aulerci, the Brannovices, and the Brannovii, 35,000. The Arverni also 
35,000; the Eleutheri, Cadurci, Gabali, Velauni, Senones, Sequani, 
Bituriges, Xantones, Rutheni, and Carnutes, 12,000; the Bellovaci 
10,000; the Lemovices 10,000; the Pictones, including the Turones, 
Parish, and Eleutheri Suessiones, 32,000; the Ambiani, Mediomatrici, 
Petrocorii, Nervii, Morini, and Nitiobriges, 35,000; the Aulerci-Ceno- 
manni 5000; the Atrebates 4000; the Bellocassi, Lexovii, Aulerci-Ebu- 
rovices 9000; the Raurici and Boii 30,000. From the states on the ocean, 
who, by their custom, are called Armoricae, viz. the Curiosolites, Rhe- 
dones, Caletes, Osisimii, Lemovices, Veneti, and Unelli, each 6000.* 

Of these, 240,000 foot and 8000 horse were immediately mustered, 
and the number, we are told, was afterwards increased. In the ten 
years' war which Caesar maintained in Gaul, where he first attacked the 
Helvetii and Tigurise, defeating their army of 200,000,f there were 
slain more than a million of men, and as many were taken prisoners. J 

In those unsettled times, the population fluctuated according to the 
events of the frequent wars. It appears from Strabo,^ that before 
Caesar's time the Belgae had but 30,000 fighting men. The Nervii, in 
their desperate contentions, were reduced from 60,000 to 500. || 

The army of Bondiuca or Boadicea, after the destruction of London, 
amounted to 230,000.11 

From the ruins of houses throughout the Highlands of Scotland, Gene- 
ral Stewart thinks the country must have been formerly very populous. The 
same has been conjectured of the Lowlands, it must be confessed, with- 
out satisfactory proof; yet the Scots and Picts must have been numerous, 
for they suffered greatly in mutual slaughters; and, about the beginning 
of the fourth century, they had to contend with 40,000 Roman troops, 
besides their auxiliaries. Alexander II., according to Matthew Paris, 
was able to raise an army of 1000 horse and 100,000 foot. 

The Celtic muster rolls are exactly similar to those of the Clans of 
Scotland. The following list of the numbers that were to be raised for 
King James, in 1704, may not be uninteresting. 

Mac Donalds 1800 

Mac Phersons 700 

Mac Kenzies of Seaforth 1200 

MacLeods 700 

Frasers 1000 

* Bello Gal. vii. 69. 70. i Appian in Bello Celt. 

t Ritson's Mem. of the Celts. § Lib. iv. 

II Bel. Gal. ii. 3 M Henry, Hist, of Britain 



MILITARY FORCE OF THE CLANS. 77 

Roses of Kilravock 500 

Rosses of Baluagowan . . * 300 

Duke of Gordon 1000 

Grant of Balindalish 300 

Steuart of Appin 200 

Farquharsons . . . , 700 

Cliisholms 200 

Mac Dulothes 500 

Perth's Highlanders 600 

9700 
Horse of Inverness and Morayshires . . . . 1000 

General Wade gives the following statement of the Highland forces in 
1715, who were engaged in the rebellion: — 

The Islands and Clans of the late Lord Seaforth . . . . 3000 

Mac Donalds of Slate 1000 

Mac Donalds of Glengarry 800 

Mac Donalds of Moidart 800 

Mac Donalds of Keppoch 220 

Lochiel Camerons . , . . 800 

Tho Mac Leods, in all 1000 

Duke of Gordon's followers 1000 

Stewarts of Appin 400 

Robertsons of Struan 800 

Mac In toshes and Fai-quharsons 800 

Mac Ewens in the Isle of Sky 150 

The Chisholms of Strathglass 150 

The Mac Phersons 220 

11,140 
which agrees with the number given by Rae 

The following clans, he adds, for the most part, join- 
ed the rebellion of 1715, without their superiors: — 

The Athol men 2000 

The Braidalban men 1000—3,000 

14,140 

The under-written clans belonged to superiors, then believed to be 
well affected to his Majesty: — 

The Duke of Argyle 4000 

Lord Sutherland and Strathnaver 1000 

Lord Lovat's Erasers 800 

The Grants 800 

The Rosses and Munroes 700 

Forbes of Culloden 200 

Rose of Kilravock 300 

Sir Archibald Campbell of Clunes 200 

8000 



78 PERSONAL APPEARANCE OF THE CELTS. 

It would appear that the number which the disaffected could bring into 
the field in the last rebellion, was 12,000,* and the others, it is believed, 
could bring nearly as many. 

The song called the Chevalier's Muster Roll, contains an enumeration 
of the various chiefs and tribes who were to take the field, and was well 
calculated to keep up the spirits of the party, by the prospect of numer- 
ous reinforcements. The following verse is a specimen. 
" The Laird o' Mac Intosh is cumin', 
Mac Gregor an' Mac Donald's cumin', 
The Mac Kenzies an' Mac Pherson's cumin', 
A' the wild Mac Ra's are cumin', 
Little wat ye fa's cumin', 
Donald Gun an' a's cumin," &c. 

The patriarchal state of society in the Highlands of Scotland, where 
a whole tribe labored and lived in common, was calculated to increase 
the population very rapidly. A farm was often subdivided among chil- 
dren, grandchildren, and other relations, until it became quite inade- 
quate for the comfortable support of all. The evil was fortunately 
counteracted by the military spirit which led the young Gael to seek 
their fortunes in military service, either at home or abroad. 

The population of the Highlands and Isles is now estimated at about 
400,000. It is sometimes stated at 200,000; but if there are 80,000 
families who speak Gaelic,! and if 5^ is the average number of individ- 
uals in a family ,J the exact amount will be 420,000. 

In the Gartmore MSS., which give a low estimate of the population, 
it is stated, that in 1747, nearly 52,000 able men from the age of eighteen 
to fifty-six could be raised. 

The STRONG and robust bodies of the Celtae, their comeliness and 
great strength, have been remarked by all ancient authors who have had 
occasion to notice them. These qualifications must have been produced 
by a sufficient supply of food, by their temperance, and by the freedom 
and activity of their lives: hunting, pasturage, agriculture, and athletic 
amusements, being almost their sole occupations, when not engaged in 
warfare. 

Both Celts and Germans were remarkably tall. They surpassed 
all other men in stature; and the largest, who were called Barenses, 
inhabited the extreme and most cold parts. § The lowest of the Ger- 
mans were taller than the tallest Romans. Hieronymus says, Gaul al- 
ways abounded in great and strong men,|| who were wont to ridicule 
other people on their diminutive size. IT The Senones were particularly 
remarkable, being terrible for their astonishing bigness and vast arms. 
The Insubres are described as more than human.** The Britons appear 

* Stuart Papers, ii. p. 117. t " The Scotsman " of 12lh January, 1828, 

t Dr. Mac Culloch. § Pausanias, i. 35, x. 20 

11 Ap. Schoepflin's Alsatia Illustrata, i. 67. 

IT Homines tantulce staturoe. ** Florus, i. 13, ii. 4. 



THEIR STATURE AND STRENGTH. 79 

to have exceeded even the Gauls in height. Tacitus remarks the large 
limbs of the Caledonians; and some prisoners that Caesar carried to 
Rome, were e.vhibited as curiosities for their prodigious size, Strabo 
indeed says, that he had seen British young men at Rome, who stood 
half-a-foot above the tallest men; but such giants were not perhaps 
usually met with, for he confesses that they were not particularly well- 
proportioned The Celts were, however, generally admired for their 
fine figures, as we learn from Polybius, Arrian, and others. Tacitus 
notices the advantage which this height gave the enemy on occasion of 
crossing a river: while the Romans were in risk of being swept away, 
the Germans could keep themselves easily above water.* These people 
were celebrated for their strength, their stature, and their huge sinewy 
bodies,! the Romans being certainly of inferior size compared with the 
barbarians. 

From returns made to the French government, it appears that the 
stature of the people has suffered a decrease during the late wars; and 
an ingenious train of argument has been deduced to show, that while 
war has a tendency to lessen the size of mankind in refined nations, it 
has a directly contrary effect among tribes of rude barbarians. These 
people take the field en masse'; but in civilized countries, the full sized 
and able bodied men in the community are sent to fight for the general 
safety: the army when reduced being filled up by successive levies of 
the most robust individuals; hence the best men are sacrificed, while 
the unhealthy and diminutive escape. Among primitive nations the 
combatants encounter hand to hand, where the advantage being evident- 
ly on the side of the strong, they will survive, while the weak inevitably 
perish. This reasoning is specious, but it is not altogether satisfactory. 
Are we to consider this as the sole cause of the variation of stature in 
the human race? So remarkable a difference between the personal ap- 
pearance of the Celtae and other nations, could not have been produced 
by warfare alone.J A tall man is not always strong, or able to undergo 
much fatigue, and even if his strength is proportionate to his size, it does 
not always render him able effectually to contend with the activity and 
hardihood of one who may be much inferior in stature. 

Amongst the Celtic nations, military glory was that to which they 
most ardently aspired, and of their warlike prowess they were excessive- 
ly vain. To distinguish themselves by deeds of valor and heroism, it 
was necessary to possess strength of body, and train themselves by a 
life of activity and enterprise. The peculiar state of society in which 
they lived, was admirably calculated to promote military qualifications, 
and preserve the advantage which nature had bestowed on the race, who 
were so well formed and healthy. Their simple institutions were emi- 
nently conducive to the spirit of liberty with which they were animated, 

* Annals, v. t Josephus Jew. Wars, ii. vi. and vii. 

t An article on this subject appeared in the " Scotsman," xii. p. 899. 



80 THEIR STATURE AND STRENGTH. 

and by which their physical strength was assisted; and as they could 
only hope for distinction from proofs of valor and fortitude, they did not 
degenerate as nations who become commercial, or are enervated by a 
warm climate. As the Celts tenaciously retained their primitive man- 
ners, their personal appearance was not altered, but continued to attract 
the notice of surrounding nations. 

Slow and late were the youth to marry, and when they did, it was 
requisite that both parties should have the same sprightly dispositions, 
and the same stature. They were espoused in the prime of life, and the 
robustness of the parents was inherited by the children.* 

The regard which the Highlanders have always paid to the personal 
appearance and manly qualities of their children, has been often re- 
marked. Next to beauty in a female, her health and person is always 
considered. "A puny delicate girl hardly ever gets a husband in the 
Highlands, because she neither can be the mother of a vigorous proge- 
ny, nor do her part in providing for them." 

Tall as the Celtse generally were, the princes and chief men usually 
exceeded the common people, both in stature and strength; for beauty 
and stateliness of person were generally characteristic of nobility in ear- 
ly society, and naturally proceeded from the constitution of a rude com- 
munity, where superior strength and warlike accomplishments are the only 
recommendations in a chief or leader, and as they intermarry with families 
enjoying similar advantages, the race does not degenerate. Like the nobil- 
ity of later times, the principal families in a tribe must have been exempt- 
ed, in a great measure, unless during war, from those labors and privations 
which the lower orders endure. In the infancy of society there is little 
chance of degenerating from luxury; we consequently find, that most of 
the Celtic heroes were above the common standard. Numerous discov- 
eries in ancient sepulchres prove the gigantic size and strong conforma- 
tion of individuals. "j" 

Teutabochus, king of the Teutoni, who invaded Italy, with the Cim- 
brians, being taken prisoner, was conspicuous above the trophies, from 
his extraordinary tallness. He was also of astonishing strength and 
agility, being able among other feats, to vault over six horses. J The 
old kings of Caledonia are described as very superior in stature and 
strength. Trenmhor, like Fingal, was tall and mighty, and all tradition 
proves the value in which these qualifications were held. Among the 
Gael, symmetry of form and bodily strength were accounted so indispen- 
sable, that as anxious attention was paid to preserve and improve the 
breed of children, as ever was bestowed, in more refined ages, on less 
noble animals; but this object was attained more through the healthful- 
ness and temperance of the parents, than from any particular care in the 

* Tacitus de mor. Germ., who elsewhere notices their huge stature. 

t Montfaucon gives an account of an interment where the skulls were found to be 
much thicker than in mankind at the present day. See also the discoveries of Sir 
Richard Hoare, &c. &c. &c. t Floras iii. 3. 



MODES OF REARING CHILDREN. 81 

education of the children, for the son of the chief had no more attention 
paid him than was bestowed on his foster-brother. 

The Germans made no distinction between the lord's son and the 
slave; they were both reared naked, and nourished with the milk of their 
own mothers. 

The wet nurses in the Isles were not allowed to drink ale, from a be- 
lief that the milk was thereby deteriorated. 

The Irish children, as soon as born, were wrapped in a blanket, and so 
continued until they could walk.* 

The Highlanders bathe their children every morning and evening in 
cold, or, sometimes, in warm water: and they did so for themselves when 
they grew up.f The cold water rendered them less susceptible of the 
piercing blasts to which they were exposed. It is customary with those 
who wear the kilt, to wash their limbs at least every morning, and when 
one assumes this dress only occasionally, some recommend, as a pre- 
ventive from catching cold, that the legs should be anointed with whis- 
key. The Gaelic youth of the better sort were not accommodated with 
bonnets, shoes, or stockings, even in the rigor of winter, until they were 
eight or ten years old, and upwards. 

The Celts were not only tall, but were well formed. Amongst the 
Highlanders, it has been remarked, that there are hardly any crooked 
or deformed people, except from accident, and some have asserted that 
they never saw a naturally misshapen person in the Highlands. The 
people of Scotland have, generally, an aversion to persons who have any 
natural defect, believing them unlucky, and marked out for misfortune; J 
a prejudice that, if not occasioned, may be strengthened by the rare- 
ness of these objects. 

The common Highlanders, from hard, and often scanty fare, are usu- 
ally inferior in stature to the chief and better sort. This was more 
perceptible formerly; but although few have attained the gigantic size of 
"Big Sam," a native of Sutherland, who was porter to the Prince of 
Wales, they are by no means diminutive. They are well formed, ex- 
tremely hardy and active. Their erect and easy gait is striking; and an 
English resident among them, a hundred years ago, remarked that the 
common people walked " nimbly and upright, and had a kind of stateli- 
ness in their poverty. "§ The Irish were noticed, two centuries since, 
as being " of good proportion and comely stature;" |1 but the personal 
appearance is so much affected by the supply of food, and manner of life, 
that, like the Scots, they have not, latterly, been so remarkable for their 
size.1T Tyrconnel, at the revolution, raised several regiments, every 

* Campion. 

t Martin. Memoirs of Donald Macleod. Children among the Goths were dipped in a 
stream or lake soon after their birth. Pinkerton. 

t This seems to arise from a belief that the fairies have something to do with them. 
See one of Kelly's proverbs. § Birt. || Barnaby Riche. 

f Luckcimbe says, on the authority of a military officer, that Irish recruits were, in 
genera), shorter than those of England. 



82 HARDINESS OF THE HIGHLANDERS. 

man of which was six feet high.* It was accounted handsome by the 
Irish ladies, to be tall, round, and fat,f but they were also "big and 
lazy," being suffered from their youth "to grow at will." The ancient 
Britons, we are told, excelled both in strength and swiftness. J 

The Celts were undoubtedly very strong, but they were extremely 
oppressed by the heat of a warm climate, and suffered much from thirst; 
for they were able to endure a degree of cold that would chill other 
troops, but were languid and feeble under the rays of an Italian sun. § 

The hardy manner in which the Celts brought up their youth, contri- 
buted, in a very material degree, to produce their strong and robust 
frames, and enabled them, through life, to contend with all sorts of 
fatigue, and surmount difficulties, which others would have sunk under. 
The Cimbri exposed themselves naked to showers of snow, and amused 
themselves by sliding down the frozen Alps on their shields. The in- 
difference of the Highlanders to cold, is evinced by their scanty clothing. 
A less equivocal proof was formerly afforded, in the fact that they fre- 
quently slept in the open air, during the severity of winter. Burt, who 
wrote in 1725, relates, that he has seen the places which they occupied, 
and which were known by being free from the snow that deeply covered 
the ground, except where the heat of their bodies had melted it. 

The anecdote which the same writer applies to Keppoch, and others, 
to a chief of the Camerons, shows how highly they valued themselves 
on their hardihood. The chief is represented as giving great offence to 
his clan, by forming the snow into a pillow before he lay down, a plain 
indication that he was beginning to degenerate. 

The Highlanders were so accustomed to sleep in the open air, that 
the want of shelter was of little consequence to them. It was usual be- 
fore they lay down, to dip their plaids in water, by which the cloth was 
less pervious to the wind, and the heat of their bodies produced a warmth, 
which the woollen, if dry, could not afford. An old man informed me, 
that a favorite place of repose was under a cover of thick over-hanging 
heath. The Highlanders in 1745 could scarcely be prevailed on to use 
tents. It is not long since those who frequented Lawrence fair, St 
Sair's, and other markets in the Garioch of Aberdeenshire, gave up the 
practice of sleeping in the open fields. The horses being on these oc- 
casions left to shift for themselves, the inhabitants no longer have their 
crop spoiled, by their " upthrough neighbors," with whom they had 
often bloody contentions, in consequence of these unceremonious visits. 

Strabo and Polybius notice that the Celts and Iberi always slept on 
the ground, even in their houses, a custom which the Scots and Irish 
retained. If the Highlanders went into other countries, they preferred 
wrapping themselves in their own plaids, to making use of the beds of 
the people among whom they came, apprehensive that such indulgence 
would tend to impair their natural hardiness. 

* Dalrymple's Mem. of Great Britain t Campion. 

I Hcrodian, iii. 47. 

§ Florus, ii. 4. Plutarch, in vita Crassi. Appian, Parthick's. Livy. 



THE HAIR OF THE CELTS. 83 

The HAIR of the Celtic race was naturally fair or inclined to red, and 
they took great pains to deepen the color. The children, from their 
birth, were for the most part white or gray headed, but as they grew up 
the hair became like that of their fathers.* Among the Britons it was 
also yellow, but it was less so than that of the Gauls.f The Welsh call- 
ed the Irish, Wyddil coch, red-haired. J In an old poem we find a he- 
ro's " body like the white chalk, his hair like the flowing gold;" and an 
old Cornish song extols a pretty maid for her white face and yellow hair.^ 
Flowing locks of this color were praised as most graceful and becoming, 
by the bards who addressed the sun as " the golden-haired." This was 
admired in the Celtic youth of former times, and "the yellow-haired 
laddie " and "lassie wi' the lint white locks," continue favorites with 
their descendants in th^ present day. 

The red-haired Spaniard is noticed by Silius,|| the "Getaj plaited their 
yellow locks, and the Albani glistened with shining hair.TT The Budini, 
who were a Getic nation, had also the red hair and blue eyes,** whicl 
characterized the whole Celtic race. They wore their hair long and 
flowing, from which Gaul received the appellation Comata, or, as Pliny 
more strongly expresses it, Capillata.ft They turned it backwards from 
the forehead to the crown, and thence to their very necks, that their 
faces might be fully seen. From this manner of wearing it they look, 
says Diodorus, like Pans and Satyrs. 

The Caledonians were distinguished by "their golden hair flowing 
over their stately shoulders." JJ The long hair of the Britons was turn- 
ed back on the top of the head, and fell down in a bushy wreath behind. §§ 
Bondiuca, or Boadicea's hair reached below the middle of her back. 

Long hair was a mark of freedom among many nations, slaves being 
obliged to cut it close. In France it was long regarded as indicative of 
nobility. nil In the old laws of Scotland is a curious intimation, " Quhen 
ane frie man to the end he may have the mantenance of one greit and 
potent man, randers himselfe to be his bondman in his court, be the haire 
of his foreheid," &c. This is surely derived from a more ancient era 
than that of the regulated feudal system. The act proceeds to say, that 
if the man should afterwards withdraw, when brought back, and the sur- 
render of his liberty proved, " his maister may take him be the nose, and 
reduce him to his former slaverie."W 

Lycurgus was accustomed to say, that long hair added grace to hand- 
some men, and made those who were ugly more terrific. The long 

* Diod. Sic. Aram. Mar. xv. 10. Tacitus. Claudian in Rufinum, iii. 

f Lucan. Strabo. Caesar. I Roberts. 

§ Pryce's Archaeologia. || Lib. xvi. v. 471. 

IT Isodore, xix. 23. ** Herodotus. 

ft Lib. iv. c. 17. , It "Am follt oir mu an gu aillean ardo 

§§ Whittaker's Hist, of Manchester. |||| Gregory of Tours. 

TITI Quoniam Attachiamenta, Ivi. Dr. Jamieson has remarked a vestige of this siiv 
gular custom in the amusement of" Tappie tousie," still practised among the Scota 
children. Etymol. Diet. 



84 MODE OF WEARING THE HAIR 

shaggy hair of the Gauls imparted a terrible appearance as they ragea 
about in the field of battle.* 

The Suevi had a mode of wearing their hair, which was imitated by 
some of the other Germans, but among these the practice was confined 
to the youth. It was twisted in a peculiar way, and bound up in a knot, 
and so fond were the Suevians of this ornament, that even when gray 
haired, they continued to raise it back in a stern and imposing manner, 
but with some it was only tied at the top of the head. The princes paid 
more attention to this arrangement of their hair than the common peo- 
ple, carefully disposing it when going to war, in order to increase their 
height, and terrify their enemies."]" Each tribe had perhaps a peculiar 
fashion of wearing their hair. J The head which appears at the end of 
the first chapter, is from a shield of the Brisigavian auxiliaries, and the 
one here shown is from an antique discovered in Holland.^ 




The two figures which form the vignette to this chapter are from an an- 
cient sculpture, and illustrate the peculiar mode of dressing the hair, 
which Martial calls the " Auris Batavorum;"!] and the one at the end 
represents a figure in Montfaucon, of unknown antiquity. 

The Catti, who were hardy, robust, and of stern countenance, let 
their beards and hair grow to a length rarely to be seen amongst other 
nations. This practice was usually in consequence of a vow, that they 
should not cut the hair of their heads or beards until they had slain ono 
of their enemies. When they had been fortunately able to do this, they 
made bare their face over the gory body, and said that now they had 
acquitted themselves of the debt contracted by their birth, and rendered 
themselves worthy of their country and their parents. IT Thus when 
Civilis who headed an extensive revolt of the Germans, had routed the 
Roman legions, we are told that " he cut off" his long locks, lank and 
red."** But many of the Catti presented this terrible aspect when 
white with age, abating nothing of the grimness and horror of their 
countenances even in peace. These sturdy veterans always occupied 
the front of the army, and made the first assault. IT They were indeed 
a peculiar band, for, avoiding the trouble of any domestic charge, and 

* Amm. Mar. xvi. 10. t Tacitus, de mor. Germ. 

t " Crinibus in modum tortis venere Sicambri." Martial, ap. Wolfgang 

§ Petri Serverii, Tab. Ant. Batavicarum. 

li Caniegetier's Diss, de Brittenburgo, &c. 1734. 

IT Tacitus, de mor. Germ. ** Tacitus Annal. 



MODE OF WEARING THE HAIR. 86 

possessing no house, they wandered about " sorning " on the other 
members of the community, on whom they appear to have thought they 
had a good claim for subsistence as long as they lived. 

The Britons and inhabitants of Ireland wore their hair long, and al- 
lowed their beards to grow only on the upper lip. Even until a later 
period, the Irish strictly adhered to this ancient practice, which was at 
last abolished by Act of Parliament, a statute being passed, ordaining 
none to wear their beards in that manner.* " A thicke curled bush of 
haire hanging downe over their eyes, and monstrously disguising them," 
was termed "glibes." By cutting off these "writhed glibbes," or let- 
ting them fall down on the face, a person was not easily recognised. It 
was surely in consequence of this custom, that Gildas says the Picts 
" covered their villanous countenances with hair,"! and that the Irish 
were stigmatized as "shag-haired villains." Sometimes it would appear, 
that for their safety they denuded themselves of their hair, but necessity 
alone compelled the adoption of such a measure, for it was otherwise 
reckoned " notable villainy to crop the glibbes in front. "J Cluverius ob- 
serves that the Irish were the last of the Celtic race who retained the 
custom of wearing the hair in the ancient manner.^ The Scots High- 
landers, about a century ago, wore it fastened in the peculiar way which 
is here shown, and which is a later instance of the ancient mode of hair 
dressing. 




They are yet fond of wearing their hair long ; and many are to be 
seen who continue to tie it behind, in the same manner as represented in 
the Frontispiece. This fashion of tying the hair was called clubbing, a 
term evidently derived from the Gaelic, and more particularly applied to 
the form used by the women, and not yet laid aside in the north of Scot- 
land, where it is turned up in a knot before and behind. 

The practice of encouraging the growth of the hair on the upper lip 
only, was not without occasional exception. Diodorus says, that while 
some shaved their beards, others did so but in part, which last method 
was invariably adopted by people of rank. These allowed the musta- 
chios to grow to such a length, that they fell down over their mouths, 
and in eating, part of the meat occasionally got entangled in the hair; 
and when they were drinking, the liquor would run "through the mus- 
tachios, as through a sieve, "jl 

* Spenser's View of Ireland, p. 32. t Chap. 15. § 2. t Campion. 

§ It was so worn in remote parts, in the seventeenth century. Riche. Indeed, in 
the end of last century, the Irish sailors continued to plait or dress their hai' in a 
peculiar manner. || Diod. Sic. 



86 BEAUTY OF THE CELTIC FEMALES. 

Both Gauls and Germans often washed their heads, and, to beautify 
the hair and increase its brightness, they used a preparation of tallow, 
and ashes of certain vegetables,* into which some coloring matter was 
probably put. We thus see that the Gauls were the inventors of soap, 
and by its frequent use, in which the men indulged more than the women, 
their hair became as hard and strong as a horse's mane.| In the time 
of Valens, the Roman troops coming suddenly on the German army, 
which lay in a valley, beheld some of them washing and bathing in the 
river, others busy in coloring the hairs of their head, and making it shine 
like gold. J 

The care with which these nations cherished their hair was remarka- 
ble. A striking instance of their solicitude respecting it, is afforded by a 
young warrior who was condemned to be beheaded. His last and most 
earnest request was, that it might not be stained with his blood, or ex- 
posed, after his death, to the rude touch of a slave, ^ In some instances, 
ringlets of auburn hair have been found in the tombs of the early 
Britons. 11 

The COMPLEXIONS of the Celts were fair and succulent,^ apparently 
from their northern climate, but attributed to their being always clothed 
except in battle,** and to their long indulgence in bed during peace. 
From whatever cause, their bodies were remarkably white, compared 
with other nations. f| 

That the genuine descendants of this race are distinguished like their 
ancestors, by a dusky, sallow, sunburnt hue, has been asserted by those 
who have shown more anxiety to maintain a system, than to investigate 
truth; but it is unquestionable that the " Candida corpora " and " coeru- 
lei oculi," always characterized the Celtis. There is nothing more 
clearly expressed by those ancient authors who have described the peo- 
ple; and these features must have been striking, to be so particularly 
noticed. The Gauls, the Germans, and the Britons were alike distin- 
guished by their fair hair and blue eyes, and the Goths of later ages dif- 
fered little from their Celtic progenitors. 

Their eyes were blue and large, but when enraged they darted fury, 
and, having naturally a stern look, it is said to have then been awful. JJ 
Their aspect must have been remarkable. Ammianus Marcellinus, 
himself a veteran soldier, who had often fought with these fierce nations, 
confesses, that in the cast of their eyes there was something terrible. JJ 

The women were very beautiful, ^^ and were as tall and courageous as 
the men.llll The beauty of Claudia Rufina, a British lady, ITIT is celebrated 

* Pliny, xxviii, 12. t Diod. Sic. 

t Amm. Mar. xxvii. 1. § Henry's Hist, of Britain. 

11 Douglas's Nennia Britannica. 

TT Diod. Sic. " Clear." " White." Amm. Mar. xv. 10. 

** Livy, xxxviii. 21. It Isodorus, xix. 23. 

tt Amm. Mar. xv. 10, xvi. 10. Tac. de mor. Germ. 

§§ AthenfEus observes " Celtte pulcherrimas habent uxores," xiii. 8. 

[Jll Diodorus. HIT Robert's early History of the Cymri 



VOICE AND MANNER OF SPEAKING. 87 

by Martial. Ammianus seems to represent the females as stronger than 
their husbands, but he probably means in domestic warfare only.* They 
paid much attention to their persons, especially in Aquitain, where you 
could not see a woman, however poor, in foul and ragged clothes, as in 
other places. I 

Small eyebrows were considered very beautiful among the ancient 
Caledonians, and some females received their names from this handsome 
feature. Caol-mhal signifies a woman with small eyebrows. The he- 
roes of Morven were not insensible to the power of female eyes. Dar- 
thula was so called from the beauty of her's; and a common phrase in 
the Highlands to this day, when extolling the beauty of a woman, is to 
say, she is lovely as Darthula.J 

The TEETH of the Celtge were sound and of a beautiful whiteness. 
This is observable in all their interments, where they are found to retain 
the enamel when every other part has gone to decay. Sir Richard 
Hoare, who has probably seen more of their sepulchral remains than 
any other person, has invariably found the teeth well preserved.^ 

The VOICE of the Celts was loud and terrible; and although they 
spoke little, even their ordinary words were dreadful. || The voice of the 
Cimbri differed from all other men, and their language was scarcely hu- 
man: they filled the air with bowlings and bellowings, like wild beasts. IT 
Pliny, alluding to their defeat by Marius, says, the disaster made them 
yell again;** and the horrid din and clamor which they made the night 
before the battle, resounded through the woods and mountains, and 
struck the Roman soldiers with great terror. 

From some accounts, the Celtic nations appear more than human 
It is to be presumed, that the terror they inspired, occasioned many 
exaggerated representations of their personal appearance; but there is 
a sufficient uniformity in the descriptions, to show that they were a very 
singular people. They had a terrible aspect, an awful and loud voice; 
their stern looks were sufficient to intimidate most people, and their bare 
appearance, when irritated, struck the beholder with terror and dismay. 
The " loud and sonorous voice " of the ancient Celts was inherited by 
the Caledonians, and was esteemed a qualification of some importance. 
When Fingal raised his voice, " Cromla answered around, the sons of 
the desert stood still, and the fishes of the troubled sea moved to the 
depths." Columba, when performing service in his church of lona, is 
said to have been heard at the distance of a mile and a half 

The Celtic nations spoke very little, and their language was dark and 
figurative lit their manner of talking was solemn and mysterious, the or- 
dinary words of most of them, as well when they were at peace, as when 
they were irritated, being dreadful and full of menace. JJ They were 

* XV. 10. t Amm. Mar. xv. c. 12. t M'Pherson in Ossian, &c. 

§ See his interesting work on ancient Wiltshire. || Amm. Mar. xv. 10. Livy, vi. 

H Plutarch in Belle Cimbrico. ** xxvi. 4. 

tt Died. Sic. U Amm. Mar. xv. 10. 



88 PRONENESS TO WARFARE. 

hyperbolical in their own praise, and spoke contemptuously of all others, 
"My pointed spear, my sharp sword, my glittering shield," said an old 
Celtic hero, "are my wealth and riches; with them I plough, with them 
I sow, and with them I make my wine: — whoever dare not resist my 
pointed spear, my sharp sword, -and my glhtering shield, prostrates him- 
self before, and adores me as his lord and his king."* The celebrated 
Macdonald, of Barisdale, in the last century, had a high opinion of his 
own merits, although he was considered by others as a very licentious 
freebooter. On the silver ornaments of his sword belt, he displayed his 
vanity in a classical address to that weapon. "j" "The insolency of the 
Gauls appears to have been notorious. "J They were " most grievously 
provoking;" but if they " were apt to menace others," it was probably 
most observable towards those who were laboring to subdue them, for 
most nations are inclined, on such occasions, to utter their defiance in 
no very pleasing expressions. When Alexander attacked the Scyths, 
they threw out the most opprobrious and railing language, after their 
barbarous manner.^ 

The Celts were also extremely irascible, being naturally passionate, |j 
managing their affairs more by rage and fury than by reason.^ The 
Germans were accustomed to fall upon their enemies, without much con- 
sideration, as it appeared, of what they were about; for they did not 
reason, but went rashly into danger without just hopes.** The Gauls 
were so liable to sudden excitation, that, in the very midst of eating, they 
would rise in a heat, and, without regard to their lives, fall to it with 
their swords.^ As they were hurried into war by an irresistible impa- 
tience, proceeding from a simplicity of feeling that prevented reflection, 
the same sincerity led them soon to relent and be appeased. Their first 
heat being spent, they often became disheartened, IT or rather appeared 
so, and relinquished the prosecution of a war as suddenly as they had 
engaged in it. An enterprise was abandoned, when the heat in which 
they took arms had abated. However creditable this might have been 
to their subsequent reasoning, it subjected them to a charge of incon- 
sistency, and threw a shade on their military fame. Hannibal, in his 
march through Italy, prevented the Gauls in his army from deserting, 
by placing his cavalry in the rear ,']"■]' but he certainly gave them the se- 
verest part of the service, for they suffered more than any others of his 
army. 

They were much given to brawls, and exceedingly insolent; and the 
women were particularly famous in this sort of wrangling, of which we 

* Athenseus, xv. c. 14. See the parabolical speech of the Druid Sithama, in " the 
fall of Tura." Smith's Gallic Ant. p. 318. 

t " Haec tibi erunt artes, pacis componere mores ; 

Parcere subjectis, et debellare superbos." 
i Polybius iii. See Tac. de mor. i. 66, and throughout his works. 
§ Diodorus. || Josephus, Ant. xix. 1. § 15. Seneca de Ira. iii. 3. 

1[ Polybius. ** Josephus, Ant. xix. 1. § 15. Ibid. Jew. Wars, vii. 4. § 2. 

tt Polybius, iii. 



THEIR MILITARY EXPLOITS. 89 

have a lively description from the pen of honest Marcellinus. " If any 
of them," says he, " be set a brawling, having the shrew, his wife, (who 
is commonly the stronger, by far, of the two, and of a sallow complex- 
ion,) to take his part, a whole band of strangers is not able to match him; 
especially when, setting out her big neck, with swollen veins, she falls a 
grating her teeth and levelling her snow-white arms, of a mighty large 
size, once begins to lay about her with fists and heels together, like the 
bolts and darts discharged with violence from a military engine."* The 
Celtse, as may be readily believed, from their fiery dispositions, were 
prone to war. Their propensity to fight led them into hostilities on very 
slight occasions, and impelled them to undertake the most dangerous ex- 
peditions. Athenseus says, they would wage war for meat and drink; but, 
surely, the want of either was a powerful stimulus. The whole race was 
warlike and fierce, and ready to fight with the greatest ardor, in open 
contention, without malignity, and with the utmost strength and courage, 
but accompanied with a rashness and temerity not very compatible with 
military discipline,! and that often brought disasters which their daring 
and undaunted bravery could not avert. At the same time, this hot tem- 
per enabled them to surmount obstacles and achieve exploits that they 
were perhaps inadequate to accomplish, if unimpassioned. It was equal- 
ly true of them as of the Scots' Highlanders, who, when kept passive, 
were observed to "lose their ardor." The military prowess of the Celts 
was proverbial. Tacitus says, the Germans thought it more honorable 
to live by their sword than the labor of any occupation. " The Gauls," 
he remarks, "were prompted to fight, by liberty; the Germans, by the 
allurements of spoil; the Batavians, by glory. "J " The Celts carried 
their rights on the points of their swords, and said all things belonged to 
the brave who had courage to seize them."§ 

. These restless warriors repeatedly invaded Italy with terrible devas- 
tation. In this country, peopled in the most early ages by the Celtae, 
many of the ancient nations continued to preserve their original manners 
when the Roman empire was in its zenith, and they long retained the 
martial spirit inherent in the race. Those nations of Gauls which dwelt 
in Italy, in the beginning, not only held the country, but acquired the 
alliance of most of their neighbors, who were terrified at their fury.|l 

The Gauls under Brennus, chief of the Senones, having for some 
cause attacked the Tyrrhenians, the Romans sent ambassadors to learn 
the reason of the war, who, arriving when the two armies were ready to 
engage, very inconsiderately joined the latter people, and killed one of 
their princes. After the battle, the Gauls sent to Rome to demand that 
the ambassador should be condemned as one who without cause had 
done them this injury, and thereby given just provocation for war. The 

* Lib. XV. c. 10. t Strabo, iv. p. 195. Polybius, &c. 

t Annals iv. He elsewhere says, the Gauls had become rich and unwarlike. The 
German wars raged with most fury when he wrote. 
§ Livy, V. 35. || Polybius, ii. 

12 



90 THEIR MILITARY EXPLOITS. 

justice of the request was at once admitted by the senate, who ordered 
the offender to be given up; but the influence of his friends prevailed 
with the people, who insisted on the decree being reversed. The Gauls 
were greatly enraged when they learned this decision, and increasing 
their army to seventy thousand they marched straight to Rome. They 
were met at Alia, ten miles from the city, by the Roman troops, who were 
speedily driven from the heights where they had posted themselves, in 
disorder to the plain, and routed with dreadful slaughter. 

The victors, according to their custom, spent the first day after the 
battle in cutting off the heads of the slain; but on the fourth, they ad- 
vanced to the walls of Rome, broke down the gates, and laid the whole 
city in ashes, except a few houses on Mount Palatine. They were 
frustrated in their attempts on the capitol by the well known alarm that 
was given by the sacred geese, but were only induced to abandon their 
design on payment of one thousand pounds of gold, with which they re- 
tired, after having occupied Rome seven months. So far, indeed, the 
Celts had done pretty well; but on their march homewards, they attack- 
ed Veascus, partly to revenge the assistance which the inhabitants had 
afforded their enemies, and partly to augment their booty by the sack of 
the place. The Romans having pursued them under the leading of 
Camillus, totally overthrew them, and recovered their gold and most of 
the other plunder.* It was only after this repulse of Brennus, that the 
Romans appear to have taken courage to attack the Italian Celts.'f, 

In the time of Asdrubal, the Gauls descended into Italy with fifty 
thousand foot, and twenty thousand cars and horsemen. The Romans, 
at this time, thought it impossible long to hold their country, unless they 
had subdued these nations; J and, before their final subjection, they were 
so terrible to the Romans, that, when the Gauls appeared, old age did 
not excuse any from the war: even the priests, who were exempted 
from military duty on all other occasions, being obliged to take the field 
when these formidable enemies were to be opposed,^ and they solemnly 
cursed all who took money from the treasury, except for the Gallic wars. 

In the account of the Cimbrian invasion, we have a striking picture 
of these ferocious nations. The magnitude of the armament filled all 
Italy with the greatest alarm, and the extraordinary strength and hardi- 
hood of these people impressed the Romans with the utmost terror. 
When they beheld the Cimbri, of immense stature and horrid counte- 
nances, exposing themselves naked to showers of snow, climbing to the 
mountain tops, and sliding down the frozen precipices on their shields, 
for mere amusement, and tearing up the neighboring hills to form a pas- 
sage across a river, Stc, the Roman veterans began to desert their col- 
ors, and at last fled.|| Yet by the excellent generalship of Marius, and 
the military discipline of the Roman army, they were eventually defeat- 
ed in two battles, with incredible slaughter. Plutarch tells us, the lands 

* Diod. Sic. xii. i P^lybius, i. t Ibid. ii. 

§ Appian, Civ. Wars, ii. |1 Polyaenus, viii. 10. Plutarch de Bello Cimbrico. 



THEIR MILITARY RENOWiN. 91 

of the Massilians were amply manured by the slain, whose bones were 
so numerous, as afterwards to be used in enclosing the vineyards; the 
few who escaped the disaster retiring to the mountains around Verona 
and Vincenza, where their descendants still exist. Before they entered 
Italy, they had been opposed in their march through Gaul by the Ko- 
mans, who lost sixty thousand men in the attempt.* From the first 
mention of the Cimbri, the Romans had been two hundred and ten years 
in conquering Germany, where they lost five armies, j Titus, to dissuade 
the Jews from a war with the Romans, represented to them the madness 
of contending with those, by whom the strong Germans, who, wherever 
they went, performed marvellous exploits, had been overcome. J "Who 
is there among you that hath not heard of the great number of the Ger- 
mans? You have yourselves seen them to be strong and tall:" these 
"who have minds greater than their bodies, and a soul that despises 
death, and who are in rage more fierce than wild beasts. "§ 

The Gauls, he continues, became tributary to the Romans, not be- 
cause they were of " effeminate minds, or ignoble, for they bore a war 
of eighty years, for their liberty. "§ These nations, indeed, fought so 
desperately, that their fame was spread abroad both far and wide, and it 
was an object with many powerful States, to retain bodies of them in 
their service, at much expense. Being held in this estimation, and re- 
collecting the daring exploits of their ancestors, it was no wonder that 
they became so proud of themselves as to despise all other people. [| 
Polybius declares, that "never until this day were greater wars than the 
Gallic, either for obstinacy of courage, or the resolution of the combat- 
ants; the greatness of armies, or the slaughter of men. "IT " These are 
they," says another, "who took Rome; these robbed the temple at 
Delphos; these laid a great part of Europe and Asia under tribute, and 
took possession of some of the countries they had subdued: mixing with 
the Greeks, they were called Gallo-Grecians. They often routed and 
cut up many great armies of Romans. "|| 

The Gauls who had escaped from Delphos, after they had vanquished 
the Thracians, settled about Byzantium, and built the royal city Tyle. 
The Byzantines saved themselves from plunder by paying tribute to the 
Gallic king, Comontoire, sometimes thirty thousand, sometimes fifty 
thousand, and at other times one hundred thousand crowns. Finally, 
they were forced to give eighty thousand crowns yearly, until the time 
of Clyare, when the Celts were extirpated by the Thracians.** 

When any of the Eastern States wished to raise an army for some 
desperate undertaking, they recruited in Gaul; and when a faithful body- 
guard was wanted, the Celtoe were engaged at any price. The Cartha- 
ginians, especially, had always numerous bodies of these troops in their 
armies, which were chiefly furnished by Gaul and Spain.fl" Mithrada- 

* Diod. Sic. Fragment, xxxvi. t Tacitus. 

t Josephus Jew. Wars, vi. 6, § 2. § Ibid. ii. 16, § 4. || Diod. Sic. v. 2. 

U Lib. ii. ** Polybius, iv. tt Diod. &c. 



92 THEIR MILITARY EDUCATION. 

tes, king of Pontus, boasted that he had in his army those Gauls who 
had always frightened the Romans.* Dionysius, the tyrant, engaged 
two thousand Gauls and Celtiberians to assist the Lacedemonians, and 
gave them five months' pay in advance. The Greeks, who had a suffi- 
ciently high opinion of their own abilities, in order to try the valor of 
their new allies, drew them out against the Boeotians and their confede • 
rates, whom they very speedily overthrew. During the time they serv- 
ed, we are told they were of great use, and purchased much renown."]" 

Apollodorus, king of Cassandria in Macedonia, armed and engaged 
with large rewards a life-guard of these men. J Perseus of Macedonia 
bargained for 20,000 of them; and Herod, king of the Jews, received, 
as his body-guard, 400 who had served Cleopatra in the same capaci- 
ty. § The Celtic legion, who were the guards of Caligula, hearing of 
his assassination, instantly drew their swords, and marched to the thea- 
tre, determined in their rage to put every soul to the sword. || The 
Gauls were among the ancients, what the Swiss have been in modern 
ages. 

The whole education of the Gauls was intended to qualify them for 
the profession of war. They never permitted their children to appear 
before them in public, until they were able to bear arms;!! and to pre- 
vent their young men from becoming fat, they were kept at work, and 
were obliged to wear a girdle, to determine their just size, which if they 
exceeded, they were fined.** 

Among the Germans, no one was allowed to bear arms until the com- 
munity had attested his ability to use them. If found worthy, he was 
dignified by one of the rulers, or his father, in the midst of a public as- 
sembly, with a shield and javeline, and from thenceforward he became a 
member of the commonwealth. 

There was but one sort of public diversion among these people, and it 
shows in a strong light the estimation in which military prowess was 
held. The young men flung themselves naked amongst sharp swords 
and darts, where they fearlessly danced amid the loud applauses of the 
spectators: a performance which they executed with much grace, but 
not for hire. To please their admiring countrymen was their sole and 
highest reward. tt 

The Scotish tribes in Ireland, we are told, trained up their youth to 
martial exercises from their seventh year, and they were honorably re- 
warded according to their proficiency.JJ The Scots Highlanders prac- 
tised the same custom; and as the military character of the Britons 



* Justin, xxxvii. t Diod. Sic. xv. 8. t Diod. Sic. 

§ Josephus Jew. Wars, i. 20, § 3. || Josephus Jew. Ant. xix. i. § 15. 

U Bello Gall. ** Strabo, iv. p. 199. tt Tacitus de mor. Germ. 

tt Harl. MS. 5280 contains an account of the renowned Irish Militia, with their 
course of probation, and exercises, written before the 10th century, by Gillo Tancou- 
lourd Mac Tuathal, in the reign of Cormac Mac Airt. Astle has noticed this curious 
work. 



MILITARY ENTHUSIASM. 93 

closely resembled that of the continental Celts, they had also a public 
investment of their youth with arms. The remains of this custom existed 
in the Highlands and Isles almost within memory of man. The princi- 
pal persons in a clan were obliged to give public proof of their valor and 
dexterity in the use of their arms, before assuming any command. 

The first meat which an Irish infant anciently received, was put into 
its mouth on the point of a sword by the mother, with many imprecations 
and prayers, that he might not die otherwise than with honor in battle.* 
Giraldus Cambrensis notices a custom, which prevailed in some parts 
even in the sixteenth century: the right arm was left unchristened, so 
that it might be able to give a sure and deadly blow.| 

The chief himself was not acknowledged until he had thus proved his 
right.J With so careful an attention to military education, is it surpris- 
ing that the nation should be warlike? To the Caledonians, the Britons 
of the south said, the Gods themselves were not equal. Herodian de- 
scribes them as insatiably fond of slaughter; and so little have their pug- 
nacious habits been changed by time, that for nearly eighteen centuries, 
they have lived in almost continual war, either amongst themselves or 
with others. From the most early ages, the Scots were extolled for 
their valor. "Ilz sont asses hardi et chevaleraux de,leur personnes," 
as an old French writer says.§ And they still nobly support the charac- 
ter Avhich their ancestors acquired, as fierce and unyielding warriors. 

No age among the Gauls was exempt from the wars, from the youth 
capable of bearing arms to the hoary head; nor was it necessary to 
urge any to take the field, for all went with the utmost cheerfulness; and 
it is a remarkable and sanguinary proof of the martial spirit of these stern 
warriors, that the unfortunate individual who arrived last at their assem- 
blies, was publicly put to death. 

No obstacles could deter them from the prosecution of a war, for, 
when they had once resolved to take up arms, they were determined to 
encouhter the most numerous and fearful disasters. || 

The Gauls who engaged with Hannibal, declared themselves ready 
to undergo any danger with him: unfortunately, the campaign turned 
out none of the easiest, IT for these daring and hardy auxiliaries. 

This forwardness to put themselves on arduous expeditions and readi- 
ness to undertake difficult operations, has distinguished the Celts in all 
ages. At the siege of Roxburgh, in 1322, the Highlanders were order- 
ed to climb a precipice on which the English were posted, which they 
very soon accomplished, putting the enemy to immediate flight.** We 

*Solinus. 

t Campion. This reservation could only have been made, from retaining the prim- 
itive mode of performing baptism by immersion. 

t Dr. Macplierson, &c. 

§ Perlin's Description des royaulmes d'Angleterre et d'Ecosse. Paris, 1558, ed. Lon- 
don, 1775. " Ilz sont hardis et vertueux comme lions ;" he elsewhere repeats. 

II Amm. Mar. xv. 10. IT Polybius. The Gauls always suffered most' 

** Lord Haile's Annals. 



94 THE CELTS SUPERIOR TO THE ROMANS. 

also find that Donald of the Isles came to one of the sieges of Roxburgh, 
with a great body of men, " armed in Highland fashion, with habergions, 
bows and axes," anxiously desiring leave to march into England before 
the army, " to take upon them the first press and dint of the battle."* 

The Romans had no inclination to admit that they were ever defeated, 
yet, in the various details which are preserved concerning the Gallic 
wars, they acknowledge enough to prove, that, although their military 
discipline gave them a decided advantage, they never met with a more 
determined resistance; and, although ultimately successful, many battles 
were certainly extremely unfavorable, if not dishonorable, to the Roman 
arms. The testimony which the conquerors of the world have borne to 
the intrepid bravery and undaunted resolution of the Celtse, is highly to 
be esteemed, for the admission of an enemy may be safely received, 
when discreditable to himself. 

Tacitus admits that the Roman arms were tarnished by the brave Ger- 
mans; and Sallust, in Cataline, says the Gauls were superior in military 
prowess to his countrymen. | The Batavi, Matiarii, and Lancearii, 
Gallic and German auxiliaries, stood their ground in that battle where 
the emperor Valens fell, when all the Romans fled. J The great Caesar 
himself, on man}^ occasions, speaks in terms of admiration of the valor 
and heroism of these nations. The Nervii, he says, overcame difficul- 
ties, which, though seemingly insurmountable, appeared yet as nothing 
to men of their resolution and magnanimity. In a certain battle, the 
slain were so numerous as to form a pile, from which the survivors, as 
from a rampart, continued to hurl their javelins on the enemy, and dis- 
puted the field with so much perseverance, that in the sanguinary con- 
flict their name was almost extinguished. On many other occasions, we 
find whole bodies were slaughtered to a man, rather than yield. The 
Gallic foot at Telamon, Polybius says, fell on the spot where they had 
placed themselves. 

Their contempt of death was very remarkable. Aristotle says " they 
fear neither earthquakes nor inundations." This fearless disposition led 
them to behave as if they were insane, for, according to some writers, 
they would not retire from their houses if they were falling about their 
ears, and would rush into the water as if they were able, with sword in 
hand, to beat back the encroaching waves. However much of this may 
be true, they certainly fought with a desperation and fury almost incred- 
ible. At Thermopylffi, they rushed on the Greeks with a ferocity re- 
sembling that of wild beasts; "their rage, while life remained, suffer- 
ing no abatement, though they were wounded by the battle-axe, cut down 
with the sword, or pierced with darts and arrows." Some of these Gauls 
tore the lacerating darts from their bodies, and discharged them back on 
the Greeks, or, as they lay wounded on the ground, pierced with them 
those who stood near them.^ 

* Pitscottie's Chronicles, p. 102, 8vo. i C. 53. 

t Amm. Mar. xxxi. § Pausanias, x. c. 21. 



ANECDOTES OF HIGHLAND BRAVERY. 95 

At the battle of Falkirk, in 1745, the cavalry had rushed on the reb- 
els, broken their ranks, and were trampling them under the horses' feet. 
"The Highlanders, stretched on the ground, thrust their dirks into the 
bellies of the horses. Some seized the riders by their clothes, dragged 
them down and stabbed them; several, again, used their pistols; but 
few had sufficient space to handle their swords." The cavalry were 
eventually repulsed, the Highlanders pursuing them and running as fast 
as the horses could gallop.* 

]\o man, says Caesar, speaking of a battle which lasted from one 
o'clock in the afternoon until evening, saw the back of an enemy; and, 
even when compelled to give way, the Gauls rallied at their carriages, 
and renewed the fight with greater obstinacy, until the night was far 
spent. ■}" In another engagement with the Romans, the first ranks of the 
Gallic troops were swept off by the javelins of the enemy, and their 
army attacked both in front and rear, yet not a man offered to fly, but 
stood and fought until every soul was cut off*.J 

Amongst many instances of personal bravery and heroism, it is related 
by the same accomplished writer, who was an eye witness of the trans- 
action, that, at the siege of Avaricum, a Gaul planted himself before the 
gate and in the face of the whole Roman army, continued to cast balls 
of burning pitch and tallow, in order to set fire to the towers which the 
enemy had raised, until he was shot dead by an arrow. The danger of 
such a position did not prevent its being instantly occupied by another 
Gaul, who was almost as quickly brought down. His nearest compan- 
ion, undismayed at death, stepping over the bodies of his brave com- 
rades, resumed the perilous duty and shared their fate. Still a fourth 
warrior placed himself with alacrity in the fatal spot, and he too fell a 
speedy sacrifice to his temerity ; yet until the conflict ceased, the place 
was not abandoned. § 

In the disordered retreat at Culloden, an English cavalry officer ad- 
vanced in front of his regiment, to catch one of the flying Highlanders 
who had come rather close to the line. The fellow quickly brought him 
down with his broadsword, and having despatched him, he deliberately 
stopped to take his watch, in front of a whole squadron of the enemy. || 
In that disastrous battle, the heroism of Gillies Mac Bane was most 
eminently displayed, and worthy of a better fate. This gentleman was 
major of the regiment of clan Macintosh; and when the Argyle militia 
broke down the park wall which enabled them to attack the Highlanders 
in flank, the brave Gillies stationed himself at the gap, and, as the ene- 
my entered, they severely suffered from the irresistible strokes of his 
claymore. As John Breac Mac Donald, who stood beside him, ex- 
pressed it, " he mowed them down like dockins." At last, finding him- 

* Chevalier Johnstone's Memoirs, p. 92. On this occasion, Macdonald of Clanran- 
nald was with difficulty rescued from under a dead horse that had fallen on hini. 
t Bello Gall. i. 20. t Bello Gall. vii. 56. 

§ Bello Gall. vii. 12. !| Che v. Johnstone. 



96 GILLIES MACBANE. 

self opposed singly to a whole troop, he set his back to the wall and de- 
fended himself with the fierceness of desperation, keeping the enemy 
lono- at bay, and killing an almost incredible number. Some officers, 
admiring his valor, endeavored to save his life, but poor Gillies fell 
where he had slain thirteen of his foes. According to some accounts, 
the number was much greater. A descendant of this brave man, who 
has lost a leg, resides at Chelsea, and is remarkable for his fine stature 
and proportion. The following verses are said to be from the pen of 
Lord Byron: 

GILLIES MACBANE. 

The clouds may pour down on Culloden's red plain, 
But the waters shall flow o'er its crimson in vainj 
For their drops shall seem few to the tears for the slain • 
But mine are for thee, my brave Gillies Macbane ! 

Thoucrh thy cause was the cause of the injured and brave , 
Thougli thy death was the hero's, and glorious thy grave ; 
With thy dead foes around thee, piled high on the plain, 
My sad heart bleeds o'er thee, my Gillies Macbane ! 

How the horse and the horseman thy single hand slew ! 
But what could the mightiest single arm do ? 
A hundred like thee might the battle regain ; 
But cold are thy hand and heart, Gillies Macbane! 

With thy back to the wall, and thy breast to the targe, 
Full flashed thy claymore in the face of their charge ; 
The blood of their boldest that barren turf stain ; 
But alas ! — thine is reddest there, Gillies Macbane! 

Hewn down, but still battling, thou sunk'st on the ground. 
Thy plaid was one gore, and thy breast was one wound ; 
Thirteen of thy foes by thy right hand lay slain ; 
Oh ! would they were thousands for Gillies Macbane ! 

Oh ! loud, and long heard, shall thy coronach be ; 
And high o'er the heather thy cairn we shall see ; 
And deep in all bosoms thy name shall remain, 
But deepest in mine, dearest Gillies Macbane ' 

And daily the eyes of thy brave Boy before 
Shall thy plaid be unfolded ; unsheathed thy claymore ; 
And the white rose shall bloom on his bonnet again, 
Should he prove the true son of my Gillies Macbane ! 

As it was equally shameful for a general to desert his troops, as for 
them to abandon their commander, he shared the same fate as his follow- 
ers; and it is related that no prince ever survived the loss of his crown. 
Correus, the chief of the Bellovaci, though his army was put to the rout, 
would neither quit the field nor accept of quarter, but continued to fight 
with undaunted courage, wounding many of the victorious Romans, who 



EXPLOITS OF THE TWO CELTIC LEGIONS. 97 

were at last obliged to despatch him with their javelins.* " Some/ 
says another, " before all their blood was shed, rose up ere they died, to 
do some more service. Others, when both knees were tired, bowing the 
left leg, would rest themselves by thus reclining, yet ready to give a 
fresh assault, which is a token of obstinacy and stiff resolution, in the 
highest degree."! 

At the siege of Amida, the two legions Magnentiae, raised in Gaul in 
the time of Constantius and JuUus, immortalized themselves. They 
were composed of valiant men, both active and nimble, excellent for 
fighting on even ground, but unfit for besieging, for they would not lend 
a hand to help any man at the engines, or in raising bulwarks, but fool 
hardily would sally forth and fight, courageously indeed, but they often 
returned many fewer than when they went out. When the city gates were 
at last closed, and they could not by any entreaty be allowed to make their 
usual sorties, they gnashed their teeth like wild beasts for vexation. At 
length, throwing off all restraint, they threatened death to the tribunes if 
they should offer to oppose their resolution of breaking out of the city, to 
attack the besieging Persians, and forthwith began to hack and hew down 
the gates with their swords, being exceedingly afraid lest the place should 
be taken before they had got to the open field, there to perform exploits 
that were worthy of Gauls. With great'difficulty they were induced to wait 
for a short time, until" they could march out, and attack the advanced posts 
with some appearance of success. They therefore sallied out on a certain 
night by a postern gate, armed with axes and swords, praying for success 
to the Heavenly power, but proceeding with the utmost caution, holding 
their breath until they reached the outwatches, who were instantly des- 
patched; when the whole body ran furiously toward the camp, designing to 
surprise the king. But the enemy being alarmed, and speedily standing 
to their arms, the Gauls made a halt, and most valiantly, with wondrous 
strength, slashed and cut down with their swords, all that stood in their 
way. The whole host pouring around them, the Gauls thought it pru- 
dent to retreat, and yet not one of them turned his back, but they retired 
gradually within the rampart, sustaining the overwhelming assault until 
they at last got into the city at day-break, with the loss of four hundred 
slain and many wounded, having thus very nearly surprised and killed, 
not Rhesus and the Thracians before Troy, but the king of the Persians, 
guarded by a hundred thousand armed men. The leaders of these 
Gauls, as most valiant heroes, were greatly honored by the Emperor, 
who commanded statues of them, in their arms, to be set up at Edessa, 
a place of much resort. This is from the pen of Ammianus Marcelli- 
nus, J who served in the same campaign, and who, in a subsequent book, 
gives us another anecdote of these heroic warriors. After the death of 
Julian, the Gauls were pitched on as the most expert swimmers, to cross 
the Tigris. Whether this was to encourage the rest of the army to at- 
tempt the passage, from their success, or, as it would otherwise appear, to 

*Bello Gal. viii. 16. Pansa. t Amm. Mar. I Lib. xix. c 5 

13 



98 THE BRITISH TRIBES. 

deter those who thought the plan of attack advisable, by showing, from the 
fate of the auxiliaries, the desperate nature of the measure, is doubtful, 
but the Gauls were let out of the place at night, and, sooner than any 
one could have imagined, they reached the further bank, and trod under 
foot, and cut in pieces, those Persians who opposed them.* 

When the ambassadors of the Celts, who lived near the Ionian bay, 
met Alexander in the city of the Getas, with offers of friendship and 
proposals for a league, that great monarch took an opportunity of asking 
these people, what they were most afraid of, believing that the dread of 
incurring his displeasure and suffering from his vengeance, must have 
been the strongest feelings at the time. The Celts replied with charac- 
teristic simplicity and indifference, that they were afraid of nothing more 
than that the sky should fall on their heads! They were admitted by 
the conqueror amongst the number of his friends, and dismissed with a 
remark, that the Celts were a very arrogant people. "f 

The Nervii openly declared their resolution of neither sending am- 
bassadors to Caesar, nor accepting his peace on any terms. J 

The obstinate and persevering resistance, and the daring attacks of 
the Celtce, more particularly the British tribes, could not fail to make a 
strong impression on the Romans. None of the race were more ardent 
in the cause of liberty than the Britons; and before they had to contend 
for their own freedom, they were in the practice of assisting their friends 
on the continent with considerable bodies of troops, during their des- 
perate contentions with the Romans, which is the chief cause assigned 
for Cassar's invasion. Tacitus avers that the natives surpassed the Gauls 
in bravery and love of freedom, and declares that Caesar " by a prosper- 
ous battle only struck the natives with terror, — that he was the discov- 
erer, not the conqueror of the island." 

The fortitude and unshaken perseverance of the Britons, their vigi- 
lance and enterprise in their endeavors to preserve their independence, 
are amply evinced throughout the long and sanguinary struggle. Noth- 
ing but the superior arms and discipline of the Romans, assisted by the 
introduction of arts, the enervating baits of pleasure, and charms of vice, 
enabled them to provinciate and keep possession of the southern parts 
of the island. Their tremendous power could not but have been long 
known to the Britons, through the Gauls, who had themselves experi- 
enced it, at the cost of upwards of a million of men, slain in the field, 
yet the appearance of those mighty conquerors on the shores of Albion 
did not dispirit the warlike inhabitants. 

CaBsar, on his first descent, was evidently defeated, § He procured 
from his country a thanks offering of twenty days, but the only proofs of 
his conquest were two hostages, received from cities perhaps not quite 
removed from Roman influence. In his second attempt, the natives were 

* Ibid. XXV. c. 9. t Arian i. 4. Ed. Amstel. 1G68, p. 11. Strabo. t Bello Gall 
§ Lucan, with whom Tysilio, an ancient Welsh Bard, coincides. Robert's early 
Hist, of the Cumri. 



CALEDONIANS. 99 

more resolutely determined to resist his arms, and the bloody conflict 
that ensued on his landing, is almost admitted to have ended in his de 
feat. After his death, Britain was scarcely considered as a Roman ac- 
quisition, and it was reserved for succeeding commanders, by sacrifices 
of blood and maxims of deep policy, to break the spirit, and sap the vir- 
tues of a rude and patriotic people. 

The island became better known after the Romans had established 
themselves, and its intercourse with the continent had consequently in- 
creased, while Gaul, finally reduced to subjection, was but a province of 
the mighty empire. Several of the tribes also began to find the advan- 
tage of the alliance and protection of their conquerors, — dissensions 
were fomented in favor of the Romans, and disunion facilitated the com- 
plete subjugation of South Britain.* 

Fierce and daring by nature, the inhabitants were subdued to quies- 
cence with that refined policy, which, by the fascinations of luxury, gilds 
while it rivets the chains of slavery, and brings the enervated wearer to 
submit, without regret, to wear a yoke, which still preserves an appear- 
ance of independence. In the pleasures of Roman society and civilisa- 
tion, the tributary Briton forgot his subjection; but a numerous part of 
the population sternly refused all advantages, as unworthy of comparison 
with the enjoyment of liberty. The free and unconquered tribes, by 
the incessant annoyance they gave to the legions, made Britain a most 
troublesome and precarious acquisition. Although often coerced, the 
high-spirited Celts v^ere never broken-hearted. The Caledonians, al- 
though amazed at the vast armies and fleets led against them, were not 
daunted, but made extensive preparation for the defence of their coun- 
try, and that with so much ardor and assiduity, that Tacitus, in relating 
the expedition of Agricola, astonished at the greatness of their exertions, 
insinuates that it was very much magnified by fame. Not only did 
they stand on the defensive, but immediately began to storm the Roman 
forts and castles, and, by the boldness of their proceedings, struck Agri- 
cola's army with terror. When repulsed in an attack which they made 
on the ninth legion, they nevertheless " abated nothing from their feroci- 
ty ; they ascribed their failure to the chance of war, and not to their in- 
feriority, and boldly continued to keep the field." Defeat seems on this, 
as on other occasions, to have roused the Celts to greater exertions 
The youth, and even the old men poured to the army from all quarters, 
and, undismayed by former losses, they posted themselves with firm de- 
termination to stand for their country and their liberties, at the foot of 
the Grampians. There they were indeed defeated, but they did not 
submit to the victors. They rallied their forces in the woods, and 
checked the pursuit. The Romans were obliged to retire southwards, 
the Caledonians followed them, retook the districts which had been over- 

* The Chamavii and Angrivarii vanquished the Bructeri in a pitched battle, wherein 
the latter lost sixty thousand men, " to the joy and recreation of the Romans," exclaims 
Tacitus, in the enthusiasm of Amor Patrice. 



100 PERSEVERING EFFORTS OF THE CELTS 

run, demolished the fortifications that had been recently erected, and 
again saw their country freed from the presence of their enemies, and 
burning with revenge, they passed the walls and ravaged the northern 
provinces. 

Hadrian, Severus, and other emperors, visited Britain for the express 
purpose of subduing the refractory tribes, and securing the northern 
frontier, but their powerful armies and vigorous operations failed in sub- 
duing the stubborn natives. Neither the formation of military roads, by 
which they were enabled to conduct armies with facility into the reces- 
ses of the country, nor the establishment of numerous stations and forts 
of great strength, produced this desirable result. Nor did the high- 
minded Caledonians value the offer of citizenship, which they could have 
freely embraced; but notwithstanding the repeated losses, and severe 
chastisements which their temerity brought on them, they obstinately 
preferred a life of freedom, to an existence branded with the mark of 
subjection. 

The continued efforts of the Welsh to preserve their independence, 
were worthy of a branch of the great Celtic race. Gir. Cambrensis 
says, that Henry H. informed the Emperor Emanuel, that they were 
60 warlike, it was easier to tame wild beasts, than daunt their courage. 

The determined opposition which the Scots ever made to the attempts 
of the English Kings, to reduce them to subjection, is a proof of the 
high value they set on national independence, and the steadiness with 
which they continued to protect it. Although the country was repeat- 
edly overrun by the armies of England, the national archives and rega- 
lia carried off, they valiantly contended under the illustrious Wallace 
and Bruce, until they had finally achieved their complete emancipation. 

"It is not glory," say the Scots nobility, in their letter to Pope John, 
in 1320, concerning their wrongs, "it is not riches, neither is it honor, 
but it is liberty alone that we fight and contend for, which no honest 
man will lose but with his life." 

The long and persevering exertions of the Scots, in the cause of the 
Stewarts, is no less worthy of remark. The misfortunes of the gallant 
Montrose, and no less worthy Dundee, and the severe punishments 
which their frequent rebellions brought on them, did not detach them 
from the interest of the expatriated family. After the accession of the 
Prince of Orange, the Highlanders became more submissive; but one 
of Dundee's unfortunate officers says that " nothing but King James' 
special command " could have put a period to the war at that time. 
The Clans, however, took the field in 1715, were in arms in 1719, and 
were still ready to vindicate their supposed liberties in 1745, when the 
final struggle of the Celtic race for their independence took place. 

On this last occasion, the privations they suffered did not impair their 
ardor. Their cheerfulness never forsook them, even when they were 
in want of almost every necessary, were surrounded with difficulties, 
and had to undergo extreme fatigue. On their retreat from England, 



HARDIHOOD OF THE GAEL. 101 

although they had performed with astonishing celerity a long march in a 
bad season, as soon as they had forded the Eske, which reached as high 
as the neck, and were in Scotland, the pipers struck up their favorite 
strath-speys, and most of the army began to dance. 

When the Highlanders rendezvoused at Ruthven after the battle at 
Culloden, instead of being depressed at their loss, they scarcely consid- 
ered it a defeat, but were burning with impatience for revenge. '' I was 
delighted," says the Chevalier Johnstone, "to see their gaiety." 

Civilis, a celebrated German leader, attacked the Roman army four 
times in one day, and instances are found of the Gauls maintaining des- 
perate battles for several successive days, such was the persevering ob- 
stinacy of these nations. 

Dundee's troops in many of their marches, which were always made 
with wonderful expedition, had neither bread, salt, nor any sort of liquor 
except water, and that during several weeks, yet they never complained. 

The Highlanders were well known to be "a people, that can endure 
all the hardships of war, being bred to all manner of cunning in relation 
thereto."* 

Sir J. Dalrymple, in his Memoirs of Great Britain, ii. p. 53, thus 
speaks of them. " The lightness and looseness of their dress, the habit 
they had of going always on foot, and never on horseback, their love of 
long journeys, but above all, that patience of hunger and every kind of 
hardship, which carried their bodies forward, even after their spirits 
were exhausted, made them exceed all other European nations in speed 
and perseverance of march. Montrose's marches were sometimes sixty 
miles a day, without food or halting, over mountains, along rocks, and 
through morasses, &c." 

" It is not easy," says Home, " to conceive how they really did live, 
and how they endured the want of those things which other people call 
the conveniences and even the necessaries of life." 

When the Highland companies were raised in the service of govern- 
ment, it was soon observed that they became less hardy than their coun- 
trymen who lived in their wonted state of rudeness and freedom. 

* Scotia Indiculum, 1682. 





CHAPTER V. 

CUSTOMS IN WAR AND MILITARY TACTICS. 

When the Celtas had determined to engage in a war, the various 
states in confederation assembled in arms, to deliberate on the mode of 
conducting the campaign, and to arrange the plan of operation, and this 
meeting was reckoned the commencement of hostilities. No measures 
were necessary to compel the attendance, at this convention, of any who 
were able to carry arms, which was nearly the whole population, "every 
age being most meet for war." Both the old men and the youth took 
the field with the utmost promptitude and enthusiasm, the only anxiety 
being to arrive first at the place of meeting. When Caractacus went to 
battle, "none would stay at home; they followed him freely, and main- 
tained themselves at their own expense."* No Gaul was ever known 
to cut ofl^ his thumb, as was done by others, to prevent his going to the 
wars, a practice for which the parties received the appellation Murcos. 
There is an instance of a Welsh prince going to war at the early age of 
ten years; and in the Scots' rebellions, mere boys are celebrated for a 
display of bravery that would have done honor to veteran soldiers. 

The Germans seem to have been less punctual in their meetings; the 
second, and sometimes the third, day elapsed before all had assembled, 
an evil that apparently arose from the liberty they enjoyed, in not being 
compelled to attend otherwise than from inclination. Like the Gauls, 
they transacted nothing without being armed. They sat down where 
they chose, without any distinction of persons; and when all had as- 
sembled, the priests enjoined silence. The king was first heard, and 
all others according to precedence in age or nobility, in warlike renown 
or in eloquence. If a proposition displeased the assembly^ it was re- 
Triad, 79. ap. Robert's early Hist, of the Cymri. 



METHOD OF CONVOKING ASSEMBLIES. 103 

jected by a slight murmur; — if pleasing, it was received by the brand- 
ishing of javelins and by the rattling of their arms, which was the most 
honorable expression of assent.* It was customary, when a chief had 
stated his determination to lead an expedition, that those who approved 
of it, rose up before the assembly, and pledged themselves to follow him; 
and to break such an engagement was to lose their honor, which they 
could never afterwards regain. | 

No affair of moment could be decided without this general assembly 
of the people. The Belgai held a council to advise on the means of 
opposing Caesar, and on his advance other great assemblages took place. 

It was a hazardous attempt for the Celtic chiefs to engage in war 
without the sanction of their people, notwithstanding the strength of the 
clannish attachment, and power of the nobility. An expedition into 
Italy being undertaken in this irregular manner, a mutiny ensued, when 
Gallus and Etas, two of their kings, lost their lives in the tumult. J 
Lord Murray raised one thousand men on his father and Lord Lovat's 
estates, under an assurance that they were to serve James, but, in fact, 
to use them in the service of King William. Having discovered this, 
while Murray was reviewing them, they suddenly broke from their 
ranks, ran to an adjoining brook, and, filling their bonnets with water, 
drank to King James's health, and marched off, with pipes playing, to 
join Lord Dundee. § 

The public assemblies were convoked, and an army raised with aston- 
ishing expedition. Information was speedily conveyed throughout the 
provinces of Gaul; for, when an event was learned by one state, it was 
immediately imparted to the others, a system eminently beneficial during 
war, and for which their swiftness of foot was well adapted. An action 
that took place near Genabum, at sun rise, was known at Arverni, by 
nine o'clock at night, a distance of 160 miles! This telegraphic rapid- 
ity has a parallel only in the methods by which the Celtic nations of 
Britain roused the various tribes to arms, while the ancient system re- 
mained entire. Fire was a ready and effectual method of arousing the 
inhabitants of a district, and the practice continued among the High- 
landers until recent times. The crest of the Mackenzies is TuUach ard, 
with "the warning flame " on its summit, being the beacon whence the 
clan was apprised of danger; but the most remarkable practice was by 
the Croish or Cran-taraidh, the cross or beam of gathering of the High- 
landers. When the chief was aware of the approach of an enemy, he 
immediately, with his own sword, killed a goat, and dipping in the blood 
the ends of a cross of wood, that had been half burned, gave it, with the 
name of the place of meeting, to one of the clan, who carried it with the 
utmost celerity to the next dwelling, or put it in the hands of some one 
he met, who ran forward in the same manner, until, in a few hours, the 

*Tac. de mor. Germ. He elsewhere says it was also customary with them to beat 
the ground with their feet. t Bello Gall. 

t Polybius, lib. ii. § Dalrymple's Mem. part ii. b. i. p. 45. 



104 METHODS OF RAISING ARMIES 

whole clan, from the most remote situations, were collected in arms at 
the place appointed. In delivering the Cran-taraidh, the place of meet 
ing, which was generally some well known spot peculiar to each clan, 
was the only word that was spoken, the symbol itself was familiar; it 
threatened fire and sword to those of the tribe who did not instantly re- 
pair to the standard of the chief The last time this singular custom 
was practised, was during the rebellion of 1745, when some disaffected 
person sent it through Braidalban, when it is said to have passed over 
thirty-six miles in three hours. 

The Northern nations had a similar instrument, one end of which was 
burnt, and to the other was fastened a cord, to denote that those who 
disobeyed the summons should be hanged. It appears to have been 
sometimes hung on a ship's mast, which corresponds to the custom 
among the ancient Gael of suspending a shield sprinkled with blood, 
in like manner, when requesting assistance.* 

It was also usual to convey intelligence, by one or more persons as- 
cending an eminence, and there raising a loud shout, which being heard 
at a distance by others, was repeated to those who were farther distant, 
and in this manner information was transmitted with surprising expedi- 
tion. This practice was continued among the Irish and Welsh until late 
times, and was called the Hubub. In Wales " when any thing happens, 
a person goes to an eminence and there cries the Houboub; those who 
hear it do the same, and the country is speedily in arms.""!" Bub, in 
Gaelic, is a yell. 

The Piobrach, among the Highlanders, did not supersede the use of 
the Cran-taraidh. Although this species of pipe music is strictly appro- 
priated to war, and was played when the forces were rising, yet it is 
evident the notes of that instrument, loud as they are, could not answer 
the purpose effectually. Among the old Caledonians, to send an arrow 
to any party was a signal of war. A symbol by which they conveyed a 
wish for immediate conflict was a spear having some burning matter at- 
tached to it. J The war cries were also used for gathering the respective 
clans, and will be hereafter noticed. 

Ammianus notices the facility with which the Germans could renew 
their armies. Some of these nations had moreover a regular system of 
recruiting, for he tells us that every village sent one hundred men, and 
hence arose the name amongst them, of " those of the hundred band." § 
It was not unusual to engage tribes who were otherwise uninterested 
in the war, to serve as mercenaries, but it was more generally the case 
that these auxiliaries assisted their friends "for the like service when 
they required it."|| The Arverni hired upwards of one hundred thou- 
sand Germans in their wars with the ^duans.lT The Irish and Scots 

* Olaua Magnus. M'Pherson in Ossian. Fosbrooke's Encyc. of Ant. 

t Edmond's Transl. of Caesar's Commentaries, p. 154, &c. 

t Ossian. § Lib. xvii. || Amm. Mar. xv. 10. 

TT Bello Gall. i. 33. In CsBsar's time, Gaul was divided into these two factions. 



RESPONSIBILITY OF THEIR LEADERS. 105 

reciprocally assisted each other. Thus, Tyrone, in 1586, sent troops to 
Angus MacConnal of the Isles, on condition of receiving a like return; 
and many traditional stories are current in the Highlands, of chiefs hav- 
ing lent their men to their neighbors, for stated periods of service. 

At the great assemblies of the Gauls, it was decided to what chief the 
supreme command should be given, and whoever was thus appointed, 
his nation took the lead, and gave name to the whole confederation, and 
the election was the free choice of the meeting. The Bellovaci, aware 
of their superiority in numbers and renown, asked the command of the 
Belgic forces that were about to take the field against Ccesar; but Gal- 
ba, son of the famous Divitiac, who had raised the Suessiones to so 
great power, was unanimously voted the command, from a sense of his 
justice and prudence. There was usually a single leader appointed to 
conduct the war; but, latterly, two or more were sometimes vested with 
equal authority.* It is likely these elections sometimes occasioned dis- 
putes. Trenmhor, the Caledonian king, to retoncile the chiefs who 
were contending for the honor of leading the attack, bade them take the 
command by turns. Among these tribes we learn that the different 
chiefs, standing apart, struck their shields, to determine who should 
have the honor of leading the war. The bards, who here seem to have 
come in place of the Druids, attending in a proper situation "marked 
the sounds," and the owner of that which they found to ring loudest, 
obtained the appointment. | The practice among the ancient Irish is 
thus represented. Before entering on an expedition, the Ard Riah, or 
provincial chief, summoned all the people, who met on the raths in 
arms, and as many as chose to engage in the enterprise selected a 
leader, on condition of a mutual division of the spoil, and, as may be 
supposed, their choice generally fell on the Ard Riah. He then com- 
municated the decision to subordinate Riahs, and they to the Aireach, 
who informed the lower officers in the Rath, until all were apprised of 
the intended war. The equal division of the spoil was strictly observed. 
It is related of Clovis, that having requested on one occasion a»certain 
vase, was answered that he should receive nothing but what by lot he 
had a right to, and indignantly struck the vessel to pieces with his axe. 

On the election of a commander, he was carried about, seated on 
a shield, carried on men's shoulders. Brinno, a Caninefatian, being 
chosen, was thus borne in procession, according to the ancient custom. J 

A council of officers, or subordinate commanders, was appointed to 
these Generals, who are poetically styled " rulers of the war " by the 
Caledonian bards, and, although, as commanders in chief, they were in- 
vested with a supreme power, yet they were so controlled by the popu- 
lar constitution of their tribes, that they dared not abuse their authority. 
They were, in fact, accountable to the people for their conduct, and, not- 
withstanding the ties of consanguinity, by which the chief was linked to 
his followers, he was sometimes impeached, and even put to death. We 

* Amm Mar. xvi. 10. t Catholda. t Tacitus. 

14 



106 PECULIAR OATHS. 

find the Gallic leaders, after the loss of a battle, of a town, or suffering 
any other disaster, very anxious to vindicate themselves to their constit- 
uents from the charge of mismanagement. The Burgundian King, who, 
by a general name, was called Hendinos, was deposed, if a war under 
his direction turned out unsuccessful.* 

If the troops had sufficient power to control the chief, he had gener- 
ally the prudence to yield to their desires. The German soldiers, on 
occasion of a battle with the Romans, obliged their leaders to alight from 
their horses and fight in the ranks with their men, that they might have no 
advantage over them, or, in case of defeat, might be able to make their 
escape. The Princes instantly complied with the wish of their troops, 
and, charging at their head, cut their way to the main body of the ene- 
my. | 

The Gallic Princes are always found in the field of battle, and usually 
where the fight was hottest. It was, however, a singular custom among 
the Caledonian chiefs to retire a little distance, and not join in the com- 
bat, unless on pressing occasions, when their immediate presence was 
necessary to inspirit and rally their troops. " When mighty danger rose, 
then was the hour of the king to conquer in the field." J 

It was customary for the Celtae to confirm their decisions by oath, and 
their most sacred obligation was swearing before or under their stand- 
ards, § but several other forms of asseveration are preserved. The In- 
subrians swore they would not unloose their belts until they had sacked 
Rome. On another occasion, the Gauls, who had taken up arms, unan- 
imously emitted a prayer, that the Gods might never more suffer them 
to return to their homes, if they failed in prosecuting the war with due 
ardor, and that they might be no more acknowledged by their wives, 
their children, or their relations. [| The Germans sealed a truce, with a 
form of oath according to their own fashion. IT When Caractacus le- 
ceived the command of the Silures, they all took a most solemn vow 
" never to yield to arms, or wounds, or aught save death."** The Cale- 
donians under Galgacus confirmed their engagements with sacrifices and 
the immolation of victims ;'|"'f and from the work of an ancient Bard we 
find that swearing by the sun was the most solemn oath of these moun- 
taineers. It is related of Manos, in an ancient poem, that having sworn 
on his shield, and broken his oath, he was universally despised. JJ 

The Gaelic chiefs also, as a bond of indissoluble friendship, sometimes 
drank a few drops of each others' blood; and to violate this sacred pledge 
was infamy through life.§§ The Irish had a similar custom, but accom- 
panied with many superstitious observances. They went to a church, 
where they were carried on each other's back a few paces in a circular 
form, kissing the relics, See; then each drawing a little of his blood, it 

* Amm. Mar. xviii. 12. t Ibid. xvi. 10. t Ossian. 

§ Bello Gall. vii. 2. || Bello Gall. vii. 29. 11 Amm. Mar. xvii. 1. 

•* Tacitus, Annal. xii. ft Tacitus. tt Smith's Gallic Ant 

§§ Martin's West. Islands, p. 107. 



THE CHIEF'S BODY GUARD. 107 

was mutually drank.* In the worship of Hertha, the Northern nations 
swore fast brGtherhood by cutting a long strip of green sod, leaving one 
end attached to the earth, when the other being raised on the top of a 
spear, they passed under it, wounding themselves and mixing the blood 
and earth together. The ceremony was completed by fal.ing on their 
knees, and solemnly pledging themselves to inviolable friendship.! The 
common form of swearing among the Highlanders was upon a drawn 
dirk, which they usually kissed. Martin tells us it was reckoned a great 
indignity to assert any thing by the hand of a father; but if to this, one 
were to add that of a grandfather, the answer to be expected was a 
knock down blow. Each clan appears to have formed an oath for itself. 
The name of the chief seems to have been in this respect highly vene- 
rated, and many do not appear to have thought swearing on the Gospels 
more binding. It is related of a Highlander, that readily offering to kiss 
the bible, the prosecutor shrewdly suspecting the reason, tendered the 
clan oath, which the witness absolutely refused to take. When a High- 
lander took an oath on the sacred volume, he did not kiss it, which in- 
deed is not the practice in Scotland, but held up his hand, and said to 
this purpose: " By God himself, and as I shall answer to God at the 
great day, I shall speak the truth: if I do not, may I never thrive while 
I live; may I go to hell and be damned when I die; may my land bear 
neither grass nor corn; may my wife and bairns never prosper; may my 
cows, calves, sheep, and lambs, all perish, &c."J The Irish, before an 
attack, swore on their swords, with which they made a cross, and, mut- 
tering charms, stuck their points in the ground.^ In 1578, nineteen of 
the Earl of Desmond's followers forswore God if they spared life, land, 
or goods, in enabling him to resist the lord-deputy. \\ To swear by the 
hand of their chief, was a most solemn oath. If found to have made a 
false asseveration, and such a case is not impossible, the landlord, we 
are told, made them pay soundly for it. O'Neil's peculiar oath was by 
Bachull Murry, or St. Murran's staff, which is said to be still preserved 
"By the blessed stone!" is an expression of the present Irish. To 
swear on the black stones, was a solemn oath of the West Islanders. 

The Celtic chiefs took great pride in being surrounded by a numerous 
band of choice troops as guards. These were his own relations and 
clients, who were devoted to his service, and were the finest men of the 
tribe. The body guards of Brennus, as they stood around him at Del- 
phos, were remarked as the tallest men of all his army. IT The Germans 
were no less emulous in the number and appearance of their followers 
than the Gauls. It was their pride to be surrounded by a company of 
chosen young men for ornament and glory in peace, — security and de- 

* Gir. Camb. ap. Campion. The Scythians, to bind their contracts, pricked them- 
selves in the arm, and drank each others' blood. Herodotus. t Dr. Hibbert. 
t Birt. The Irish thought the bigger the book was, the greater the oath. 
§ Spenser. || Desiderata curiosa Hibernica. 
V Pausanias, x. 23. 



108 THE CATHARN OR KERN. 

fence in war. In battle, it was a shame for the Prince to be surpassed 
in feats of prowess, and scandalous for his followers not to equal their 
chief; and it was lasting infamy for them to return from the conflict 
when their leader was slain.* Such a body was the Soldurii of the 
Gauls, " sworn friends," who never survived their commander. Adcan- 
tuan of Aquitain had six hundred of these followers. 

The Luchdtachk of the Highlanders was an exactly similar body in 
organization and devotion to their chief, and it was composed of young 
men of the best families in the clan, who were expressly educated for 
the service. They were anciently armed with darts and dirks, and their 
special duty was to attend the person of. their chief Their favorite 
amusement was wrestling, at which they were most expert; and when 
the chiefs were visiting each other, it was usual for their followers to 
begin this exercise, which they did with great emulation, often, when 
not prevented, resorting to downright fighting. This company was 
usually selected by the heir, or Tanist, who was himself obliged to de- 
monstrate his right to command them, and his claim to the chieftainship, 
by giving a specimen of his valor. It was, therefore, customary for him 
to lead them on some desperate foray, from which they were expected to 
bring home a prey of cattle or other spoil, or die in the attempt. After 
this exploit, if successful, the fame of the young chief and his associates 
was fully established. These companies were called Catharn, a word 
signifying fighting bands, otherwise pronounced Cearnachs and Kerns. 

As it must have been the ambition of all the young men to enrol them- 
selves in the Catharn, they were most likely in some cases numerous; 
but, except in actual war, the chief carried no more attendants with him 
than those who composed his regular retinue, or fail; an establishment 
by no means scanty, for it comprised ten or more persons, besides sever- 
al others, who found some pretext or other for their presence. 

A company of soldiers like the Catharn required to be kept in action, 
and as the tribe could not be always at war, they undertook expeditions 
to revenge old injuries, and procure booty, or exalt their military fame; 
but the favorite recreation with these warriors was to make a foray on 
the Lowland plains, and enrich themselves by a valuable creach. Hence 
the name of Cearnach was reckoned honorable, and was applicable to 
those chiefs who distinguished themselves; as Rob Roy M'Gregor, 
Mac Donald of Barisdale, Gilderoy, and others, have done. These 
men were far from thinking so meanly of themselves as their Lowland 
countrymen did, who had often too much reason to dread the visits of 
"the Catrin." 

The Lusitanian young men associated in bodies in the mountains, 
which they occupied as if it were formed by nature solely for themselves, 
and from whence they made incursions into Spain and amassed great 
riches by their robberies; and, although the Romans checked, they were 
unable to put an end to these inroads. 

* Tacitus de mor. Germ. 



MODE OF DRAWING UP ARMIES, 109 

The following character may compare with Mac Gregor or Wallace 
himself, and is a curious specimen of an ancient Celtic Cearnach. The 
account is extracted from the preserved fragments of the lost books of 
Diodorus the Sicilian. Viriathus of Lusitania, a captain of those rob- 
bers, was of incredible sobriety and vigilance. He was just and exact 
in dividing the spoil, and rewarding those who had behaved themselves 
valiantly in battle; and in its distribution he never took a greater share 
to himself than what was assigned to others; nor did he ever convert to 
his own use any of the public moneys, and therefore his men never shrunk 
from any undertaking, however hazardous, when he commanded and led 
them on. In his leagues and treaties he was exactly faithful to his 
word, and always spoke plainly and sincerely what he intended. When, 
at his marriage, many gold and silver cups, and all sorts of rich carpets, 
were set forth to grace the solemnity, he held all on the point of his 
lance, not with admiration, but rather with scorn and contempt. When 
he had spoken for a considerable time with much wisdom and prudence, 
he concluded with many apposite and forcible expressions, particularly 
with this very remarkable one ***** By this saying, he meant to 
show that it was the greatest imprudence to trust in the uncertain gifls of 
Fortune, since all those riches, so much esteemed by his father-in-law, 
were liable to be carried off by some one, on his spear's point. He far- 
ther added, that his father-in-law ought rather to thank him, who was 
lord of all, for taking nothing of him. Viriathus, therefore, neither 
washed nor sat down, altiiough entreated to do so, nor did he partake of 
the rich dishes of meat, with which the table was plentifully spread, but 
took and distributed some bread and flesh among those that came along 
with him. After he had little more than tasted the meat himself, he order- 
ed his bride to be brought to him, and having sacrificed in manner of the 
Celtiberians, he mounted her on horseback, and straightway carried her 
away to the mountains; for he accounted sobriety and temperance the 
greatest riches, and the liberty of his country, gained by valor, the sur- 
est possession. For eleven years he commanded the Lusitani, who, 
after his death, were broken and dispersed. He was buried with great 
pomp and state. Two hundred gladiators were matched singly with as 
many more, and fought duels at his sepulchre, in honor of a man who 
was so remarkably valiant and just." f 

The Gauls are said to have sat down when they were drawn up in 
order of battle. J The passage is thought by some to be corrupted; by 
others, it is explained as meaning that the troops rested on their fas- 
cines or baggage, of which they always carried a great quantity, arrang- 
ing the wagons around the camp as a sort of entrenchment, behind 
which they made a most obstinate defence when hard pressed. The 
fascines were sometimes set on fire, and an army effected its retreat 
under cover of the dense smoke. 

* This part is unfortunately lost. 

t Diodorus Sic. Fiagmenta Valesii, lib. xx. § 93, 99, and 108. t Bello Gall. viii. 



110 RIGHT OF CLANS TO CERTAIN POSITIONS. 

The Germans pitched down their standards immediately on halting or 
taking up a position.* It does not appear in what order the Celtic ar- 
mies marched. When the Caledonians passed through the territories 
of a friendly tribe, they reversed their spears, carrying the points be- 
hind. 

Both Gauls and Germans were invariably drawn up in different batti- 
lia, the disposal of which appears to have been so well determined from 
ancient times, that the chief in command dared scarcely venture to make 
any variation. Each tribe fought under the immediate direction of its 
own chieftain, and was, if possible, assigned that position, which, ac- 
cording to order and precedence, had been long settled. Vercingetorix, 
a celebrated Gallic chief, " disposed his army according to their seve- 
ral districts. "f In the British army, under the renowned Caradoc, or 
Caractacus, whose fame had excited a universal desire in Italy to be- 
hold so noble a warrior, we "find "the troops of the several countries 
stood in front of their fortifications; " and when the unfortunate Bondiu- 
ca fought her last disastrous battle, the warriors stood in separate bands, 
A common mode of drawing up a British army, in the fifth century, was 
in nine divisions, three of which were in front, three in the centre, and 
three in the rear. J 

The right of certain situations in a field of battle was accounted a 
point of extreme importance among the Celts. At the battle of the 
Standard, 1138, the Picts contended for their right to lead the van of 
the Scots' army, and their claim was allowed. On that occasion, the 
third line was formed of the clans under the command of their different 
chiefs. 

The Highlanders have always been most jealous of their accustomed 
right to certain positions in the line of battle, and rather than submit to 
the indignity of being placed in any other situation than that to which 
they were entitled, they would allow their army to be disgraced by de- 
feat. A fatal omission on the part of Prince Charles, in 1745, occasion- 
ed him the loss of that battle, which finally terminated the hopes of his 
family. On the field of Culloden, the Mac Donalds were unfortunately 
placed on the left instead of the right wing, to which they asserted an 
ancient right, and not a man but the heroic Keppoch would draw a 
sword that day. An officer of that division thus writes concerning the 
conduct of his clan. "We, of the clan Mac Donalds, thought it omi- 
nous we had not this day the right-hand in battle, as formerly, and as we 
enjoyed when the event proved successful, as at Gladsmuir and Falkirk, 
and which our clan maintains we had enjoyed in all our battles and 
struggles in behalf of our royal family, since the battle of Bannockburn, 
on which glorious day Robert the Bruce bestowed this honor upon An- 
gus Mac Donald, Lord of the Isles, as a reward for his never-to-be- 
forgot fidelity to that brave prince, in protecting him for above nine 
months in his country of Rachlin, Isla, and Uist. This right we 

* Amm. Marcel, sxvii. 9. t Bello Gall. vii. 18. t Vegetius ii. 2. 



MODE OF DRAWING UP ARMIES. Ill 

have, I say, enjoyed ever since, unless when yielded by us out of favor 
upon particular occasions, as was done to the Laird of Mac Lean, 
at the battle of Harlaw; but our sweet-natured prince was prevailed 
on by L. and his faction to assign this honor to another on this fatal 
day, which right, we judge, they will not refuse to yield us back again 
on the next fighting day."* These Mac Donalds were not of the 
opinion of an ancient lord of that name. He had, by some mistake, 
at an entertainment, been prevented from taking his place at the head 
of the table, which occasioned several remarks among the guests. 
On being told what engaged their attention, he exclaimed aloud, 
" Know, gentlemen, that where Mac Donald sits, that is the head of the 
table." 

The Saxons retained the ancient custom of arranging their armies by 
tribes, the head of a family leading all the members to battle. The 
Tricastines, a people who lived about Troies, assaulted the Empe- 
ror Julian's army by troops, while their main body was drawn up with 
strong wings and flanks, close together.! Ammianus describes an 
army as being led by two kings, who were joint commanders, next to 
whom were five princes, second in rank to the kings and the princes 
of the blood royal. J The Caledonian kings were accustomed to retire 
to an eminence the night previous to a battle, apparently for the purpose 
of obtaining, by visions from their ancestors, a knowledge of the result 
of the impending conflict. The Scandinavians appear also to have used 
this custom. § The German battalions were formed sharp in front, or 
drawn up in a triangular figure. Tacitus, speaking of the Batavi, says, 
this body was impenetrable on every side, and in advancing it pierced 
through the firmest legions. || The army of Donald of the Isles, at the 
battle of Harlaw, was drawn up in the cuniform order, and old Highland- 
ers sometimes even now speak of Geinneach-cath, the wedge form, 
without appearing to know its meaning. The name of a Pictish cohort 
seems never to have been understood. It was called Geone, and was 
no other than the wedge-formed battalion. IT 

The old Irish are represented as marching forward "with three and 
three in ranckes beset," and crowding together when on the point of 
engaging.** Their armies had also many "loose wings." The High- 
landers were accustomed to arrange themselves three deep, and, by sim- 
ply facing about, the regiment was in marching order. When the Gauls 
were drawn up ready for battle, they indulged in the most opprobri- 
ous and provoking language towards their enemies. In " a letter from 
a soldier in Ireland, 1602," Tyrone's men are represented as advancing 
within sixty paces of the English horse, and then stopping after their 
fashion, shaking their staves, and " railingly vaunting." Arrian notices 

* Note in Memoirs of Chevalier Johnstone, quoted from Lockhart's papers, ii. 510. 

t Amm. Mar. xvi. 1. t xvi. 10. 

§ Ossian. || De mor. Germ. 

^ Adomnan, i. 33. ** Derrick's Image of Ireland. 



112 MODE OF ATTACK. 

how grievously provoking the Celts were, and ^lian has a chapter on 
their audacity. The practice of using scornful and contemptuous lan- 
guage on such occasions was not, however, peculiar to the Celtoe. The 
refined Greeks did not hesitate to use reviling language in battle.* 

Before an engagement, it was usual for some to step out, and, brand- 
ishing their weapons, challenge the stoutest of their opponents to single 
combat. If any one accepted the challenge, the Celtic warriors sang 
loudly in praise of the valor of their ancestors and their own virtues, 
vilifying their adversaries, and insulting them for want of courage and 
military renown. t 

From the success of the parties, they anticipated victory or defeat 
in the general engagement. Another method was to get hold, by any 
means, of one of the enemy, with whom they set one of their own men 
to fight, each armed in his own way, and from the fate of the combatants 
a presage of the war was drawn. It was, perhaps, from this, that the 
anxiety of the Caledonians, to draw the first blood in any military expe- 
dition, arose. It was not necessary that it should be that of an enemy; 
to make sure work, the Highlanders, from time immemorial, never failed 
to sacrifice the first animal that came in their way; and, anciently, they 
used to sprinkle the blood on their colors, to prevent mistake as to 
priority. The detachment of rebels under Lord Lewis Gordon, who 
defeated a party of the king's forces at Inverury, in 1745, ripped up a 
sow with young, that presented itself, as, in the morning, they passed 
by the mill of Keith Hall. 

The attack of the Celts was made by a deafening shout from the whole 
army, which was returned by the women and children, who were gener- 
ally close in the rear. In night assaults, the greatest silence was pre- 
served until the moment of "onslaught," when an appalling cry was 
raised, adding much to the alarm of the enemy. The practice of shout- 
ing was common to all Celtic nations. The Irish, we find, made "a 
most terrible noise of crieing." It appears to have been the Prosnacha- 
cath, or incentive to battle, of the Caledonians, which afterwards became 
a regular song or piece of music among these clans, and is allied to the 
Gaelic cath ghairm, or gaoir catha, a war cry, and the Slagan of the Low 
country. The battle-shout called Barritus, says Ammianus, xvi. ii, be- 
gins in a slight humming, and rises higher, like beating of waves. 
This cry seems to have been used by the old Romans. 

The first assault of a Celtic army was tremendous. They ran on with 
such fury that they made whole legions recoil; J but it has been also ob- 
served that they were always most vigorous in the first onset, their ardor 
gradually subsiding if unsuccessful, for their best qualifications were 
strength and audacity. § The strong resemblance of the Celts of modern 
times to their remote ancestors, in this respect, is remarkable. The 
Highlanders of 1745 retained all the bravery and heroism of the race, 

• Pausan. iv. 8. f Diod. t Appian. § Strabo. 



MILITARY TACTICS. 113 

but " the chiefs knew no other mancEUvre than that of rushing upon 
the enemy, sword in hand, as soon as they saw them."* At Floddon 
Field, 

" The Highland battalion so forward and valiant, 
They broke from their ranks and rushed on to slay ; 
With hacking and slashing and broad swords a dashing, 
Through the front of the English they cut a' full way." 

And at Prestonpans the rebels advanced with a swiftness not to be con- 
ceived."]" Dio describes the Caledonian infantry as swift in running and 
firm in standing. An old writer, describing the Irish, says they were 
impetuous in their first onset, clashing their swords as they advanced; 
but, if repulsed, they speedily retreated to the bogs. 

The Germans, on one occasion, are described, when engaging the 
Romans under Constantius, as in the greatest heat. At the most early 
dawn of day they were seen running up and down, brandishing their 
swords, grating their teeth, and pouring forth dreadful menaces. J This 
was surely a most useless way of exhausting themselves, but it was quite 
characteristic, for they are again represented as raging about, with hide- 
ous gnashing of teeth, and eyes darting fury, until they were puffing 
and blowing hard, as they well might, from such insane exertion.^ The 
Gauls are allowed to have made a most furious onset; but after the first 
heat was over, they generally became disheartened. They seem to 
have, in the first place, aimed at securing victory by an overwhelming 
assault, and, on its failure, to have resorted to stratagem. Tacitus ob- 
served this practice among the Germans, who did not reckon it dishon- 
orable to retreat when the battle was unfavorable. It was esteemed 
good policy to retire, that they might renew the fight with more advan- 
tage. jj A French writer, in 1547, characterizes the Scots as " plus 
propre a faire des courses qu' a combattre: bons pour un coup de main 
ou pour une surprise." Better is a good retreat, than a bad stand, says 
the Gaelic proverb. 

Neither Gauls nor Britons depended entirely on their strength and 
valor for success. Their favorite military tactics were those of strata- 
gem and surprise, to which the nature of the country, the state of society, 
and predatory character of their wars, were adapted. They were most 
expert in these arts, and possessed such consummate skill in retreat and 
desultory attack, that the Roman Generals were extremely perplexed 
and annoyed by this system of warfare. It was certainly the wisdom of 
these nations to avail themselves of all means of harassing and weak- 
ening so formidable an enemy as the veteran and well provided legions 
of Rome. 

Whenever the Britons found a party of the enemy at a distance from 
the camp, employed in foraging or otherwise, they fell suddenly upon 
them, and often cut them entirely off". They sometimes cut down the 

* Mem of Chev. Johnstone. t Col. Whitefoord's Evidence. 

J Amm Mar. xvi. 3. § Ibid. xvi. 10 || De mor. Germ. 

15 



114 VALOR AND INFLUENCE 

woods to retard pursuit.* It was also usual for them to feign a retreat, 
for the purpose of drawing a party from the main body, when, being 
enticed into the woods or other fastnesses, they were, by a furious as- 
sault, put to the sword. So much did the Roman army suffer from these 
disasters, that Caesar was obliged to issue strict orders that none should, 
on any pretence, leave the camp. These ambuscades were not to be 
detected: parties were suddenly surprised and annihilated, when the 
vicinity of an enemy was not suspected; and when a body of troops were 
sent in pursuit of the assailants, they were nowhere to be found. Often 
when victory seemed secured to the Roman arms, the Britons, retreating 
to marshes and fastnesses, unexpectedly rallied, and, with a desperate fury 
and an impetuous onset, they would check the foremost pursuers, throw 
them into confusion, and compel them to retrograde with the utmost 
celerity. Numbers suffered in this manner after the battle of the Gram- 
pians, and on many other occasions. The Gauls, who, in the time of 
Asdrubal, invaded Italy with an army of 70,000 men, gained their first 
battle with ^milius by feigning a retreat. f The Morini, a people who 
inhabited the country about Terouenne, suddenly attacked Caesar from 
the woods into which they had decoyed his troops, and, having put most 
part to the sword, made good their own retreat. J It was a well planned 
attack, or a most lucky turn of fortune, that enabled a body of 800 Ger- 
man horse to surprise and completely rout a detachment of 5000 Roman 
cavalry. J 

It was usual with the Gallic nations before an engagement, or during 
the heat of war, to remove their women, their children, and their aged 
men out of the way of danger. They were placed in the fastnesses of 
the country, or in their regular strong holds. The Nervii having taken 
the field with an army of 60,000 fighting men, before engaging the Ro- 
mans, placed their old men, women, and children in the bogs;^ and the 
Caledonians, before the battle of the Grampians, sent their wives and 
children to places of safety. || 

But the Gallic ladies were not always accustomed to shun the dangers 
of the field. They were in the practice of sharing the fatigues of the 
chase, and they frequently lent their vigorous assistance in the turmoil 
of battle, undismayed by the horrors of the fiercest encounter. When 
the Cimbri engaged the Romans, " the women attacked them with swords 
and axes, and, making a hideous outcry, fell upon those that fled, as well 
as their pursuers, the former as traitors, the latter as enemies; and mix- 
ing with the soldiers, with their bare arms, pulled away the shields of the 
Romans and laid hold of their swords, enduring the wounding and slash- 
ing of their bodies to the very last with undaunted resolution. "TF The 
Northern nations had their skiold moer, or shield maids, who went into 
battle. 

On a certain occasion we find the Gaulish women exerting themselves 

" Amm. Mar. t Polybius, ii. t Bello Gall. 

§ Bello Gall. ii. |1 Vit. Agric. TT Plutarch de Bello Cimbrico 



OF THE CELTIC FEMALES. » 115 

most strenuously to animate the soldiers and excite them to the combat. 
They ran about with dishevelled hair, and other appearances calculated 
to rouse the army to the utmost rage.* When the Druids were attacked 
in Anglesea, their sacred asylum, by the Romans, the women did the 
same. The illustrious Queen of the Iceni is an instance of the heroism 
of British females. I am not aware that any of the ladies of Scotish 
chiefs actually fought, but many of them have on various occasions 
raised their followers, and led them to the field. 

The Germans placed their wives and children in the immediate vicini- 
ty of the field of battle, who before an engagement set up loud bowlings, 
which were answered by the chantings of the whole army, both together 
making an astounding noise. The troops being thus under the notice of 
their dearest relatives, were stimulated to the most obstinate and san- 
guinary resistance. 

It was highly creditable to the humanity of the Gauls, that during the 
continuance of a battle they carried their slain and wounded off the 
field, where the affectionate females were at hand to afford relief and 
assistance. They administered refreshment, dressed the wounds, and 
even sucked the bleeding sores of their fainting relatives. "f 

The great respect which the Celts paid to their women was due to 
many amiable qualities, and the estimation in which military acquire- 
ments were held by these people gave an incredible weight to the author- 
ity of a heroine. Veleda, in the Batavian war, had the address and 
energy to combat and to govern the fiercest nations of Germany; and 
before her, Aurinia and several others had arrived at a similar height of 
power. Such courageous and dignified females were believed to be en- 
dowed with supernatural gifts, and in the name of the Deity they gov- 
erned the people. The influence of the intrepid Bondiuca over the 
British tribes, is a striking proof of the veneration paid to these exalted 
characters, who were believed to be the interpreters of the Divine will. 

The German women had the honor of turning on many occasions the 
doubtful scale of victory; and "fainting armies have more than onde 
been driven back upon the enemy, by the generous despair of the women, 
who dreaded death much less than servitude. The sentiments and con- 
duct of these high spirited matrons may at once be considered as a 
cause, as an effect, and as a proof of the general character of the na- 
tion." J We find that it was referred to the Gallic women, by soothsay- 
ing and casting lots, to determine when it was proper to fight. § 

It was the peculiar duty of the Bards to animate the Celtic warriors; 
for which purpose they always attended the armies in considerable num- 
bers, and their persons were held sacred. "They were not only res- 
pected in peace, but also in war, and by enemies as well as by friends;" 
and so great was the influence of this order, that "they would often step 
between armies prepared to engage, their swords drawn, and spears 

* Bello Gal. t Tacitus de nior. Germ. t Gibbon. § Bello Gal 



116 DUTIES OF THE BARDS. 

levelled;" their inte. position having the immediate effect of stopping the 
impending conflict, and allaying the fury of the troops, as if they were 
"wild beasts tamed by some charm."* Amongst the Scotish Gael, the 
Druid, placing himself on an eminence, harangued the troops who stood 
around him, reminding them of their former glories, exhorting them to 
exertion on the present occasion, &c., and invoking the divine blessing 
on all. At the conclusion, the army gave a loud shout, and felt quite 
prepared for immediate attack. 

The respect paid to the Bards, who survived the fall of Druidism, 
continued, until recent times, among the Celtic inhabitants of Britain. 
They are noticed as possessing a similar influence over the Irish in the 
seventeenth century, as they did over the Gauls 2000 years ago.l Their 
military duties were those which afterwards devolved on the heralds, but 
their religious character did not prevent them from taking a more active 
part in the conflict. The Bards were certainly armed, as we find from 
Talliesin, who was himself of the order. Carril, a bard of Fingal's 
time, appears fighting; and Ullin, another, is mentioned as carrying the 
spear. But they were of most service in animating the people by the 
Prosnacha cath, or incentive to battle, which was either hereditary or 
extempore, and was chanted both before the commencement and in the 
heat of battle. These war songs were composed in a quick measure, 
were rapidly repeated, and had a most spirit-stirring effect, for "the 
strife was kindled by the songs of the Bards." The Welsh had also a 
war song, J called Arymes prydain; and several are found in the works 
of the Bards. That of Gaul is a good specimen of the ancient Celtic 
poetry and style of the battle song. It is taken from the copy which the 
Rev. Mr. Gallic, of Kincardine, in Ross, communicated to the Highland 
Society from oiemory. It may be found in the 4th book of Fingal, as 
translated by Macpherson; but the present copy seems to be preferable. 

A inhacain cheann, Offspring of the chiefs, 

Nan eursan strann, Of snorting steeds, high bounding ! 

Ard leumnacli, righ n'a'n sleagh ! King of spears ! 

Lamb threin 'sguch cas Strong arm in every trial ; 

Croidhe ard gun sci. Ambitious heart without dismay. 

Ceann airm nan rinn gear girt, Chief of the host of severe sharp pointed weapons 

Gearr sios gu bas. Cut down to death. 

Gun bharc sheol ban So that no white sailed bark 

Bhi snamh ma dhubh Innishtore. May float round dark Innistore. 

Mar tharnanech bhavil Like the destroying thunder 

Do bhuill, a laoich ! Be thy stroke, O hero ! 

Do shuil mar chaoir ad cheann. Thy forward eye like the flaming bolt, 

Mar charaic chruin, As the firm rock. 

Do chroidlie gun roinn. Unwavering be thy heart. 

Mar lassan oidhch do lann. As the flame of night be thy sword. 

Cum suar do scia Uplift thy shield 

[s crobhhui nial Of the hue of blood. 

* Diodorus. t Barnaby Riche. t Cambrian Register. 



SIGNAL FOR BATTLE, 



117 



Mar chih bho reul a bhaish, 
A mhacain cheann 
Nan cursan strann, 
Sgrios naimhde sios gu lar. 



Asa * • * • 
Offspring of the chiefs 
Of snorting steeds, 
Cut down the foes to earth. 



Many war songs of later times are extant. The Prosnacha cath 
Garaich, composed by Lachlan Mac Mhuireach,! the Bard of Donald 
of the Isles, to animate his troops at the battle of Harlaw, fought in 1411, 
is another curious production. It consists of eighteen stanzas of unequal 
length, corresponding to the letters of the alphabet, and the epithets in 
each begin with the respective letter. The following specimen may be 
thought interesting. 



A chlanna cuinn, cuimhnichidh 
Cruas an am na h'iorghuil 
Gu arinneach, gu arronntach, 
Gu arach, gu allonnta' 

Gu gruamach, gu grinnail, 

Gu grainail, gu gaisgail, 

Gu gleusda, gu geinnail, 

Gu gasda, gu guineach, 

Gu galghaircach, gu griongalach, 

Gu griosnamhach, gu gairlamhach, 



Race of Conn, be hardihood 
Remembered in the day of strife, — 
Repeatedly thrusting confidently, 
Strongly, nobly — 

* ■* if m 

Sternly, elegantly, 
Terribly, heroically. 
Eagerly, in a wedge-like column 
Gallantly, keenly, 
Causing lamentations, ardently, 
Inveterately, with sounding blows, 



Gu glansgathach, gu geurlannach, «&c. Lopping off limbs, with keen swords. 

The poem is more remarkable for the alliteration, than the strength or 
beauty of the words. This species of recitation was retained until re- 
cently. Many poems of this kind were composed in 1715 and 1745; 
but the spirit of Celtic poetry declined among the Bards, for most of the 
modern productions, as Macphersoa remarked, consist chiefly in groups 
of epithets, with little beauty or harmony. 

Besides the animation of the war song, the Highlanders were subject 
to the influence of something like that feeling which leads the Eastern 
nations to " run a muck." When the party was observed to be in immi- 
nent danger, and nothing but a most desperate eflx)rt could turn the fate 
of the day, or save the lives of their friends and foster-brothers, the 
Gael was seized with the Miri-cath, or madness of battle, which, as Al- 
exander Macdonald, in his panegyric on the clan, observes, required no 
Prosnacha. The Celtae, when warm for battle, expressed their impa- 
tience by striking their shields, and otherwise rattling their arms. The 
German Kings used, from ostentation, to be surrounded by their troops, 
who made a great noise in this manner with their arms. It was the usual 
practice among all these nations to express their desire for action; but 
it would not seem to be peculiar to the Celtge, for the Romans were used 
likewise to strike their shields with their spears, to indicate their readi- 
ness to fight. To hold up a shield was anciently a signal of battle. 

* The words are said to be now unintelligible ; they plainly signify, " Like the hav- 
oc from the star of death." t Pronounced Vuireach. 



118 CLANSHIP. 

Herodotus mentions it, as formerly the practice to give this signal, by 
a torch-bearer, who was sacred to Mars, and whose person was inviola- 
ble. Proceeding to the space between both armies, he dropped his 
torch in the middle, and instantly retired. We find from Ossian, that 
" rolling a stone " was " the sign of war," by which must be understood, 
I apprehend, its being dashed against some sonorous body. A more 
usual signal to commence an engagement was, by the raising up or un- 
furling the royal standard. Fingal's standard, from its beauty, was call- 
ed the sun-beam; and hence, in old composition, to begin a battle is 
expressed by the "lifting of the sun-beam." Striking the shield was 
another signal to commence an engagement. The military operations 
of the Celts, like their domestic affairs, were influenced by the peculiar 
system of polity, which governed the whole race, and which so long 
preserved the remains of this aboriginal people, distinct from the other 
nations of Europe. This state of society has been styled the Patri- 
archal: it is more usually denominated Clanship. In Scotland it existed 
eighty years ago, in as great strength and purity as it, perhaps, had ever 
done in the most ancient times. In this country the affection with which 
the people cherished their primitive institutions, distinguished the High- 
land tribes from all others known in the history of mankind. 

Clanship was the junction of feudal ar^d patriarchal authority, pass- 
ing from chieftain to chieftain; but the simplicity of this government 
was corrected by regular division of landed property, by many salutary 
customs, and by a degree of steady refinement and civilisation. At the 
period when the Romans became personally acquainted with this coun- 
try, the inhabitants were considerably advanced beyond the simple pat- 
riarchal state, that only exists in the very infancy of society, before fami- 
lies become united in large communities, and are formed into tribes 
closely allied and attached to each other. The first is a step above the 
savage life; it is a still farther advance in civilisation to arrive at the art 
of domesticating cattle, and society will long exist by so doing before 
its members begin to cultivate even a small portieti of the earth. These 
changes naturally succeed each other, in the progress of all people, from 
the rudeness of savage life to the social state. 

In the infancy of society, mankind are almost solely occupied in hunt- 
ing and warfare. The first pursuit is necessary for their subsistence, 
the second is unavoidable among savage tribes, for the members of an 
early community are obliged to be constantly on their guard, to protect 
themselves from the aggressions of their neighbors. The small associa- 
tions are firmly united and linked together, and the bonds of friendship 
are strengthened by tnne, whilst the little intercourse that takes place 
with other people preserves that attachment which the members cherish 
towards each other. It is in this primitive condition of mankind, that 
the peculiar system of Clanship originates, which, from particular cir- 
cumstances, becomes variously modified. 

An early society is obliged to be always in a posture of defence, in 



ORIGIN OF CLANSHIP. 119 

order to preserve its very existence, and is continually engaged in mili- 
tary enterprises, either to gratify the passions of enmity and resentment, 
to avenge former wrongs, or to indulge in a natural propensity to supply 
its necessities by the plunder of others. This state of existence points 
out the advantage of the members putting themselves under the guid- 
ance of some individual, who is considered best able to direct their 
operations. The necessity of a regulation, by which the proceedings of 
a body shall be superintended and controlled by a single head, seems to 
be acknowledged in all countries, and naturally arises from the obedience 
that a family yields to the authority of a father. When men are in this 
primitive state, there are no distinctions in rank, and the only recom- 
mendations arise from personal qualifications. Strength, courao-e, dex- 
terity in managing the implements of war, a superiority in the perform- 
ance of athletic amusements, and othe.r similar accomplishments, will 
point out an object for choice; and when a person is selected for the 
important station, and performs its duties satisfactorily, the community 
becomes attached to him. His achievements are boasted of, his exploits 
are magnified, and, from a natural feeling, the honor of the whole body 
is intimately connected with him. The more fortunate he is, the more 
do his followers esteem him, and the more solicitous they are to deserve 
his good opinion, by their fidelity and emulation to distinguish them- 
selves. The chief, accordingly, acquires more weight in the manage- 
ment of their affairs, and he is too fond of the power with which he is 
invested, to commit those actions which would lead to a deprivation of it. 

When the art of war becomes more refined, military skill and experi- 
ence are preferred to mere strength and agility, in the election of chief, 
without wholly disregarding those latter qualifications; hence the respect 
that is paid to old age, from the wisdom which is acquired in a long life. 
The individual who, in a pastoral state, has become rich in numerous 
herds, becomes proportionally powerful. He is able to support those 
who have nothing themselves, and who therefore become his dependants, 
and cheerfully contribute to that affluence which is readily bestowed on 
his friends. He is treated with respect and submission by his retainers 
and less fortunate relations, and enjoys a pre-eminence from the abili- 
ties, which have been exerted in the accumulation and management of 
his flocks. 

Personal qualifications cannot always be continued in a family, but 
wealth can be transmitted through generations; and the influence of 
ancestors, instead of expiring with them, becomes, in some measure, 
added to that of the successors. This possession of property gives rise 
to hereditary chieftainship, and therefore the leader or governor of a 
tribe is often very young. 

When agriculture begins to be practised, there is a new source of 
influence, extremely favorable towards strengthening the authority of a 
chief or head of a viflage. The ground is at first cultivated in common, 
and during this period the chief has a power of superintendino- the 



120 ORIGIN OF CLANSHIP. 

labor, and apportioning the produce of the fields. When the land is af- 
terwards divided into certain properties, he is by common consent allow- 
ed an extent of territory for himself, equal to the rank he is obliged to 
support, and is empowered to assign to others suitable allotments: he 
thus becomes sole proprietor of the soil, and acquires a complete au- 
thority over the members of his little community. His military duties 
are also increased, as he is more interested in the defence of the tribe, 
which now requires additional exertion. The members obey him with 
less hesitation; they revere his command, and become so strongly at- 
tached to his person, that they are ready to support him on all occa- 
sions. To fail in this duty, would draw on them his resentment; theii 
faithful service procures his kindness and proteciion. The chief nat- 
urally becomes their legislator. At first he reconciles their differences 
by persuasion, to which a respect for his experience and judgment will 
induce the parties to attend, but he soon acquires power to enforce his 
decisions. 

The authority of a chief is very limited in a nation which has not 
advanced far in the pastoral state, but it is almost unlimited when it has 
become rich in flocks and agriculture, and the influence of subordinate 
heads of families is always proportioned to the extent of their posses- 
sions, and indicated by the number of their retainers. 

The Gallic chief had the direction of all the warlike affairs, and the 
great mark of nobility consisted in the number of vassals by which he 
was attended, who were always proportionate to his estate and quality.* 

After the formation of a settled community, the military and other 
services of the vassals, rendered for the enjoyment of the portion of 
land originally assigned for their subsistence, constitutes the bond of 
society. 

The improvement in agriculture, and consequent increase of popula- 
tion, occasions the formation of separate villages, composed of colonies 
branching from the original tribe. These are situated at considerable 
distances from each other, and in time become distinct, and in some 
degree independent, at least in their internal government; but they re- 
semble each other in manners and institutions, and continue to acknow- 
ledge their common descent. The enlargement of their possessions sub- 
jects them to more frequent attack and molestation from their neigh- 
bors, and their mutual interest induces them to associate for their better 
security. This will be sometimes the case with contiguous tribes of 
different origin, and is likely to occur in the coalition of a weak clan 
with one more powerful. Such associations are not unknown to the 
shepherd state, but are more frequently formed in agricultural commu- 
nities. In this manner society becomes enlarged and cemented by in- 
termarriages and mutual hospitalities. From this cause, also, will lesser 
tribes merge in those larger associations, under whose protection they 
have placed themselves. They will be regarded as an inferior division 

* Bello Gall. vi. 7. 



SCOTLAND ADAPTED FOR IT. 121 

only, their particular name will cease to be mentioned separate y, and 
in time will be only preserved among themselves. 

In exchange for this sacrifice they will share iu the glories acquired 
by the people to whom they have ceded their independence. They will 
still retain their own chieftain, who will continue to possess the power 
of governing his immediate dependants, and only submit at first to his 
superior in general affairs. In military transactions he will have the 
immediate command of his own troops, and be only subject to the chief, 
who is supreme leader. 

This arrangement, or mode of conducting military operations, is a 
striking part of the Celtic system of polity, which is thus seen to derive 
its origin from the most early associations, that are formed by mankind. 

In this view of the system I am obliged to differ in opinion from Sir 
David Stewart, who thinks, that on the transfer of the government from 
the Highlands, and consequent impoverishment of the country, the in- 
stitution of Clans arose.* Scotland is naturally well adapted for the 
preservation of the inhabitants in a state of distinct and independent 
clanship. Divided into valleys, surrounded by lofty, and in many cases 
itapassable mountains, the various tribes were separated by permanent 
and well known boundaries. 

Hills are better divisions than rivers, which are generally fordable, 
and in a mountainous country, the bed of a stream is sometimes filled by 
the most impetuous torrent, and at other times becomes only the channel 
of a rippling brook; but the heights around a valley, and the extended 
ridges embracing a larger tract, divided Celtic Scotland into Countries, 
before it was laid out in parishes or in shires. From the introduction 
of Christianity arose the first; the last were introduced with other Saxon 
innovations, in the middle of the eleventh century. These alterations 
were deemed sufficient. Tythings, hundreds, and other institutions, 
were never established in Scotland. | To the inhabitants of a valley, all 
within the visible horizon was a country. The great contention was 
always for "the sky of the hill, "J and long as it is since this Celtic 
division has been politically unknown, the districts inhabited by certain 
clans are still called their Countries. 

This separation of territory was, however, too indefinite. Without 
some established marks, the exact extent of different properties could 
not be well determined ; and in hunting and on other occasions, infringe- 
ments would occur, which nothing but a war could requite. 

Stones, like the Roman Termini, marked the boundaries of the terri- 
tories of the Germans and Burgundians, in the time of Julian,^ and it 
may be safely presumed that many of the rude obelisks to be found all 
over Scotland were raised for this purpose. In the Isles and other parts 
of Scotland, burnt ashes, or chaff", were laid under stones for the better 

* Sketches of the Highlanders. 

t Caled. It was not until 1584 that Ulster was laid out in shires. 
t Skene Keith. § Ammian Mar. 

16 



122 CLANSHIP, AN EQUITABLE SYSTEM. 

preservation of these marks; and a practice, which is well known at the 
perambulation of English parishes, was in use as a farther security, that 
the march should not be afterwards mistaken: boys were taken to the 
spot and received so sound a flogging, that it was by no means likely 
they should, while they lived, forget the place of execution.* 

Trenches, or earthen mounds, were also formed as boundaries, and 
were sometimes carried to a considerable length. They are common 
in England, particularly in Wiltshire, where the Wansdike, running 
through Somersetshire to the Severn, the most wonderful remain of 
British earthwork, is still distinctly seen. In Scotland, also, particu- 
larly in the Southern counties, are still to be traced the vestiges of many 
extensive boundary lines, for which the unsettled state of these provinces 
in early ages may account. Here also were constructed those walls 
which the Romans, evidently in imitation of the Celtic mode of castra- 
metation, intended as the boundaries of their overgrown empire. 

But, leaving the theory, let us more particularly trace the progress 
of Clanship, and pursuing its history, observe its effects among those 
nations where it was most tenaciously adhered to. The whole institu- 
tions of the Celtoe were affected by this singular system. All the Gauls 
were regulated by this mode of government, and the Romans found it in 
full force among the Britons, whose descendants so long retained their 
ancient policy. 

This curious social compact comprised the patriarchal with the feudal 
authority. Its grand characteristic was obedience to the chief by the 
whole clan, with the respect that the members of a family pay to a fath- 
er, like whom the chief exerted his authority over all his followers. The 
claims of consanguinity were spread over the whole community, and all 
were distinguished by a common name. 

The chief, as head of the tribe, being in a certain sense, proprietor oi 
the whole territory, he managed it for the public good, and endeavor- 
ed to divide the lands so as to accommodate all his followers. In the 
later periods of their history the chiefs did hold great portions, if not, in 
some cases, all the land as their own, which enabled them to increase 
their power, and provide for their immediate relations by grants, some- 
times in wadset, sometimes in perpetuity, and sometimes for a limited 
period. 

Amongst the ancient Celtte, however, the prince or king had nothing 
actually his own; but every thing belonging to his followers were freely at 
his service, "of their own accord they gave their prince so many cattle, 
or a certain portion of grain." It seems probable that the Celtic chief 
held the public lands in trust for his people, and was, on his succession, 
invested with those possessions which he afterwards apportioned among 
his retainers. Those only, we are told by Ctesar, had land, "magis- 
trates and princes, and they give to their followers as much as they 
think proper, removing them at the year's end." The king of the He- 

* Martin. 



CLANSHIP A PATRIARCHAL GOVERNMENT. 123 

budfB, we find, was not allowed to possess any thing of his own, lest 
avarice should divert him from truth and justice.* In Ireland, the tenants 
gave common spendings for rent, from which came the expression " spend 
me and defend me." 

Perhaps when Malcolm, in 909, resigned all his lands to his nobles, 
reserving nothing to himself but the royal dignity and moot hill of Scone, 
a circumstance that has excited much astonishment, he did no more than 
acknowledge, according to the Celtic system, that it was from his peo- 
ple he received his possessions. 

The following are the words of Dr. Johnson, when speaking of Clan- 
ship among the Scots Highlanders. " The Laird is the original owner 
of the land, whose natural power must be very great where no man lives 
but by agriculture, and where the produce of the land is not conveyed 
through the labyrinths of traflic, but passes directly from the hand that 
gathers to the mouth that eats it. The Laird has all those in his power 
that live on his farms. This inherent power was yet strengthened by 
the kindness of consanguinity and the reverence of patriarchal authority. 
The Laird was the father of the clan, and his tenants commonly bore his 
name; and to these principles of original command was added, for many 
ages, an exclusive right of legal jurisdiction. This multifarious and 
extensive obligation operated with a force scarcely credible: every duty, 
moral or political, was absorbed in affection and adherence to the chief. 
Not many years have passed since the clans knew no law but the Laird's 
will; he told them to whom they should be friends or enemies; what 
kings they should obey, and what religion they should profess." 

Next to the love of the chief was that of the particular branch whence 
they sprang; and in a third degree to those of the whole clan. The 
Highlanders also owed good will to such clans as were their friends, and 
they adhered to one another in opposition to the Lowlanders, 

The simple principle of Clanship may be reduced to the patriarchal 
authority of a father over his family, and the affectionate obedience which 
a clansman paid to his chief as the father of the tribe. Nothing could 
cancel the paramount duty of allegiance. The members of one clan 
might reside on the lands of another proprietor, but their service was 
due to their lawful chief only, whom they were bound to follow. If any 
individual had the temerity to disobey the commands of his superior, it 
may be presumed his situation became not very enviable. If he per- 
sisted in his opposition, he was expelled the clan, for no individual could 
remain in the territory after setting himself above his chief; but few 
instances of such conduct ever occurred. 

The law of Kincogish, by which a chief was answerable for every mem- 
ber of his clan, was a truly Celtic institution. It existed in South Britain 
in the time of Alfred, and was found so useful, that it was embodied in the 
statutes of both Ireland and Scotland. 

* Solinus, c. 22. 



124 CLANSHIP, 

The whole clan, however numerous, were supposed to be related to 
each other; and although it is not easy to conceive so large a family, 
yet, as the members continued to intermarry, they were actually in a 
certain degree related, not excepting the chief himself, whose blood each 
individual believed, with feelings of pride, circled in his own heart. 
The superior orders in the tribe, the chieftains and Duine-uasals more 
familiarly known in latter times as the Tacksmen or Goodmen, were ac- 
knowledged relations of the Laird, and held portions of land suitable to 
their consequence. These again had a circle of relations, who consid- 
ered them as their immediate leaders, and who, in battle, were placed 
under their immediate command. Over them, in peace, these chieftains 
exercised a certain authority, but were themselves dependant on the 
chief, to whose service all the members of the clan were submissively 
devoted. 

As the Duine-uasals received their lands from the bounty of the chief, 
for the purpose of supporting their station in the tribe, so these lands 
were occasionally resumed or reduced to provide for those who were 
more immediately related to the Laird; hence many of this class neces- 
sarily sank into that of commoners. This transition strengthened the 
feeling which was possessed by the very lowest of the community, that 
they were related to the chief, from whom they never forgot they ori- 
ginally sprang. "There is no part of France," says Marchargy, 
" in which the spirit of family connexion is stronger than in Brittany: 
relationship is carried to the twelfth degree, and passes from genera- 
tion to generation."* About this simple plan of government much 
has been written. It is evident that it must have produced features 
very peculiar and very different from those to be found among any other 
people. 

The practice of fosterage, by which children were mutually exchang- 
ed and brought up, was a curious feature in the system, and a most 
powerful cement to clanship. 

The son of the chief was given to be reared by some inferior member 
of society, with whom he lived during the years of pupilarity. The ef- 
fect of this custom appears to have been astonishing. It often prevented 
feuds, and it seems calculated sometimes to produce them. The attach- 
ment of foster-brothers was strong and indissoluble. The Highlanders 
say, that " affectionate to a man is a friend, but a foster-brother is as 
the life blood of his heart." No love in the world, says Camden, is 
comparable by many degrees to it. "f" That of foster parents was equally 
strong, and many traditional anecdotes are related of their mutual regard. 
Spenser relates that he saw an old woman who had been foster-mother 
to Murrough O'Brien, at his execution suck the blood from his head, 
and bathe her face and breast with it, saying it was too precious to fall to 
the earth. 

* Hist, of Brittany, Lit. Gaz. 1825, No. 450. 

t Coalt is a foster-brother ; Dalta, a foster-son ; Old, a foster-father 



STRENGTHENED BY FOSTERAGE. 125 

It appears that fifteen were usually fostered by a chief,* but Fmgal 
had sixteen foster-brothers. "j* 

It was accounted a high honor to obtain the fosterage of a superior. 
"Five hundred kyne and better," were sometimes given by the Irish, 
to procure the nursing of a great man's child, j The trust was so far 
from being deemed a service, that it was reckoned a very high honor, 
and hot contentions arose among the vassals for the preference. The 
foster family were particularly respected by the chief, and raised to 
much consideration among their neighbors. 

The foster-brothers were generally promoted to some office near the 
person of the chief. The family, at all events, received some adequate 
reward, and the terms were regularly settled. § These were not the 
same in all places. " In Mull, the father sends with his child a certain 
number of cows, to which the same number is added by the fosterer ; 
the father appropriating a proportionate extent of country, without rent, 
for their pasturage. If every cow bring a calf, half belongs to the fos- 
terer and half to the child; but if there be only one calf between two 
cows, it is the child's; and when the child returns to the parents, it is 
accompanied by all the cows given both by the father and by the foster- 
er, with half of the increase of the stock by propagation. These beasts 
are considered as a portion, and called macaladh cattle, of which the 
father has the produce, but is supposed not to have the full property, 
but to owe the same number to the child, as a portion to the daughter, 
or a stock for the son." |1 

Among a people so knit together by consanguinity, it naturally follow- 
ed that an injury done to an individual was resented by the whole clan. 
Tacitus observes of the Germans, that they adopted all the enmities as 
well as friendships of their particular houses. " Men in a small district 
necessarily mingle blood by intermarriage, and combine at last into one 
family. Then begins that union of affections and co-operation of endeav- 
ors that constitute a clan."!! The Celtic princes were attached to their 
followers by relationship as well as policy. They were mutually bound 
by the closest ties, and their ambition was to emulate each other in acts 
of heroism. A numerous retinue was the greatest pride of the Celtic 
warriors: those of Italy strove which should purchase most friends, for 
they highly esteemed a man that was honored by many.** The Scyths 
also instilled into their children to make numerous friends. H It was the 
delight of both Gauls and Germans to be surrounded by numerous bodies 
of chosen men, whose sense of honor was so strong, that they could not 
abandon their master, even to save their own lives, without incurring 
universal contempt.JJ 

* High. Soc. Rep. on Ossia. t Ibid. t Campion. 

§ A deed of fosterage, between Sir Norman Mac Leod and John Mac Kenzie, dated 
1645, and written in Gaelic, still exists 

II Johnson's Tour to the Hebrides. II Johnson. ** Polybius. 

tt Les dilF. moeurs des an. peuples, 1670. It Bello Gall. vii. 38. 



126 THE ATTENDANTS OF A CHIEF. 

Those sworn bodies of friends which the Gauls called Soldurii,* lived 
on a community of goods, shared in all the misfortunes as well as suc- 
cesses of their commanders; and Caesar declares that there was no in- 
stance on record of any who ever refused to sacrifice his life with tho- ve 
who engaged him. I Amongst the Germans, he informs us, that if those 
who had agreed to follow the fortunes of a leader, should break the 
engagement, they were branded with infamy, which could not by any 
means be ever afterwards removed. 

The enthusiastic Mr. Roderick Mackenzie, who fell into the hands 
of the king's troops after the defeat of the rebels at Culloden, is a noble 
example of devoted attachment. Bearing a strong resemblance to 
Prince Charles, and finding himself suddenly surprised, yet disdaining 
flight or submission, lest, in the homely phrase of Dugald Grasme, 

" That, like a thief, he should be hanged, 
He chose to die with sword in hand ;" t 

and attacking the party, he received his mortal wound, exclaiming, as 
he fell, " You have slain your prince! " To this generous sacrifice the 
escape of Charles is to be chiefly attributed; for the head of Mackenzie 
was cut off", and as it was believed to be that of the Chevalier, for which 
a reward of £30,000 was offered, the parties who were scouring the 
country became less vigilant. 

At Glenshiels, in 1719, Munro of Culcairn was wounded in tlie thigh, 
and the rebels continued to fire on him when down. Finding their de- 
termination to kill him, he desired his servant to get out of the way, and 
return home, to inform his father that he had not misbehaved. The 
faithful Highlander burst into tears, and, refusing to leave his master, 
threw himself down, and covering the body of his chief with his own, re- 
ceived several wounds, and, in all probability, both lives would have 
been lost, if one of the clan, who commanded a party, had not seen 
their perilous situation. He swore on his dirk he would dislodge the 
enemy, and by a desperate charge in the spirit of Miri-cath, he did so. § 

The Luchdtachk of the Highlanders was a body of young men, select- 
ed from the best families in the clan, who were skilfully trained to the 
use of the sword and targe, archery, wrestling, swimming, leaping, and 
all military and athletic exercises; and their duty was to attend the chief 
wherever he went. The regular establishment consisted of these per- 
sons, who always accompanied him when he went abroad: 

The Gille-coise, or Hanchman, who closely attended the person of 
his chief, and stood behind him at table. 

The Bladair, or spokesman. 

The Bard. 

The Piobaire, or piper. 

* Sold, germ, stipendium, — the evident origin of soldier. 

* Bello, Gall. iii. 23. 

t Metrical History of the Rebellion. This anecdote is related in the Mem. of the 
Chev. Johnstone. § Birt, ii. 14. who had it of Clucairn. 



RULES OF PRECEDENCE. 127 

The Giile-piobaire, the piper's servant, who carried his instrument. 

The Gille-more, who carried the chief's broadsword. 

The Gille-casfluich, who carried him, when on foot, over the rivers. 

The Gille-comhstraithainn, who led his horse in rough and dangerous 
paths. 

The Gille-trusarneis, or baggage man. 

The Gille-ruithe, or running footman, was also an occasional attend- 
ant. 

Besides these, he was generally accompanied by several gentlemen 
who were near relations; and a number of the commoners followed him 
and partook of the cheer which was always provided by the person to 
whom a visit was paid. These large foUowings, or Tails, occasioned an 
act of council to be passed, prohibiting the Northern Lairds from appear- 
ing at Edinburgh with so formidable and inconvenient a retinue. The 
tails of the Highland chiefs were, however, sufficiently imposing on occa- 
sion of his Majesty's late visit to Dunedin.* 

In the laws of Hwyel dha, we find there were fourteen men in the 
palace. The heir apparent, the priest, the bard of presidency, the do- 
mestic bard, the physician, the judge, the master of the household, the 
master of the hawks, the master of the horse, the chief huntsman, the 
smith of the court, the torchbearer, the crier, and the foot holder. All 
these sat at table according to certain rules of precedence that will be 
detaned in another part of the work. 

The order observed in the armies of the Highlanders, before the abo- 
lition of their heritable independence, was this: every regiment or clan 
was commanded by the chief, if of sufficient age, who was consequently 
the colonel. The eldest cadet was lieut. -colonel, and the next was 
major. Some clans, in 1745, had the youngest cadet, lieut. -colonel; 
but this was unusual, and held to be an innovation on the established 
principle. Each company had two captains, two lieutenants, and two 
ensigns, and the front ranks were composed of gentlemen who were all 
provided with targets, and were otherwise better armed than the rear. 
In the day of battle, each company furnished two of their best men as a 
guard to the chief, and in their choice, consanguinity was always con- 
sidered. The chief was posted in the centre of the column, beside the 
colors, and he stood between two brothers, cousins-german, or other 
relations. The common men were also disposed with regard to their 
relatives, the father, the son, and the brother standing beside each other. 
The effect which this "order of nature""!" ^^^^ have had in stimulating 
the combatants to deeds of heroism, can be easily perceived. It did not 
escape the notice of the intelligent Tacitus. Alluding to the practice 
among the Celtic tribes of the Continent, and the inhabitants of the 
British Isles, who always fought in parties, or by clans, under the com 
mand of their immediate chiefs, he says, that this disunion, preventing 

* The Gaelic name of Edinburgh. 

t Home's Hist, of the Rebellion, 1745, &c. 



128 EXCELLENCE OF CLANSHIP. 

any general confederacy, was highly favorable to the Romans, who 
were thereby enabled to subdue " a warlike people, independent, fierce, 
and obstinate."* We, however, find that it did not always prevent a 
general coalition, as was so strikingly evinced on the invasion of Gaul, 
and on the advance of Agricola into the regions of Caledonia. Csesar, 
who was surely a competent judge in this matter, thought his troops 
fought to much disadvantage against these parties, who stood with firm- 
ness, and were constantly relieved by fresh men. Tacitus himself, in 
his Annals, expresses his decided approbation of this mode of drawing 
up an army; and also says, "what proves the chief incentive to their 
valor, is, that the battalia are not formed by a fortuitous collection of 
men, but by the conjunction of whole families and tribes of relations, ""f 
Cassar observes, that this Clannish system was introduced among the 
Gauls in ancient times, so that the most obscure person should not be 
oppressed by the rich; for each leader was obliged to protect his follow- 
ers, else he would soon be stripped of his authority. J It is apparent, 
from the constitution of Celtic society, that a chief could never become 
despotic. The government was radically democratic. 

It has been remarked that the divisions of tribes and nations were 
rather an obstacle than assistance in the conquest of Gauf for the 
reverses of one tribe had no effect on the state of another. § When 
Bondiuca had been defeated with the loss of 80,000 of her troops, the 
Britons were found still in arms.|l Although the Nervii lost 60,000 in 
one battle, and on another occasion 53,000 other Gauls were sold for 
slaves, these disasters had not any visible effect on the general proceed- 
ings. 

Their mode of fighting was extremely well adapted to the particular 
state of those people. They possessed a large extent of territory, and 
the loss of a general battle would have been peculiarly unfortunate; the 
population being so widely spread, an army, when dispersed, could not 
have been easily brought again into the field, except by the subdivision 
of authority; and before the forces could have been collected, the enemy 
would have completely overran the country. The influence of the 
chiefs over their respective dependants enabled them to execute plans 
with a celerity unknown under other systems; and the various opera- 
tions being distributed among so many, the whole army was organized 
with great facility. The immense hosts that were embodied could not 
have been raised among a semi-barbarous and roving people but through 
the strong influence of the chiefs, who were perfectly free and indepen- 
dent in the regulation of their own tribes. 

It is evident that each clan being so constituted, and there being no 
more general connexion than a common language and similar customs, 
there could never arise any power able to raise itself to a great superi- 
ority over the others. One tribe might predominate for a time; but the 

* Vita Agric. xii t De mor. Germ. t Bello Gall. vi. c. 7. 

§ Edmond's Remarks on Caesar's Commentaries. || Tac. Annals, xiv. 



DEMOCRATIC SPIRIT OF CLANSHIP. 129 

subjected people could not forget their allegiance to their natural chief, 
or feel a cordial attachment to their new lord. This state of things 
would be, besides, too hostile to the spirit of clanship to exist long; and 
we therefore find, that whatever successes one nation might obtain over 
others, the balance of power was, on the whole, preserved among the 
Gauls, and no one or more of the tribes were ever able to erect any 
thing like a powerful kingdom. They are governed, says Diodorus, by 
kings and princes, who, for the most part, are at peace with each other. 
In Britain, Dio informs us, the people, for the most part, had the gov- 
ernment. Their constitutions were certainly democratic. 

It was not, indeed, unlikely that small tribes should pay deference to 
those who were more powerful. The advantage of protection, and the 
honor of a noble alliance were powerful inducements to allow a slight 
interference in their internal affairs, which was not entirely incompatible 
with Celtic policy; but the individual rights of a chief could not be 
relinquished, without the consent of the whole tribe. However, from 
motives of prudence, or from necessity, a chieftain might be induced to 
humble himself to his more powerful neighbor, they were both equal in 
dignity. 

Clanship was admirably adapted to preserve the national liberty of 
the Celts, and it was no dishonor to their arms that they ultimately were 
subdued by Roman valor. The various and unconnected tribes of Gaul 
could not have been well governed by a single monarch, and it may be 
doubted whether the Highlanders of Scotland could have retained their 
independence so long, had they been under regal government. 

The dignity of chief was properly hereditary, but was not always so, 
especially on the Continent. Among the Scots the form of government 
remained more purely patriarchal, and the regular succession was sel- 
dom interrupted: hence it has been inferred, that Clanship could not 
have been derived from the continental Celts, among whom power seems 
to have been elective. It must be recollected that these Were in a dif- 
ferent situation from the British tribes, whose manners had suffered less 
change, and who, when visited by the Romans, apparently retained 
those maxims which their forefathers had brought into the island. But 
however altered, the succession of the princes of Gaul was not elective 
in the general sense of the word. It has been shown that a general as- 
sembly of a nation made choice from the nobility or royal family of a 
general who should lead them to war, a regulation that was extremely 
judicious, for the chief might have been a minor, or less able to conduct 
the army than many of his experienced nobles, and his death in battle 
might have produced very unpleasant consequences. Tacitus says, 
that the generals were chosen for bravery, but the kings from splendor 
of descent, so that even striplings had sometimes the supreme command. 
A new chief required the sanction of his people before he assumed his 
title, and acknowledged that his power was derived from their suffrages. 
In this sense it was a free election; but, like a conge d'elire, the choice 

17 



130 CELTIC CHIEFS WERE NOT DESPOTIC. 

of the people usually coincided with the wish of the chief, and the per- 
son who had the best right to the situation was elected. He was, in 
fact, the heir, by right of primogeniture; for, among all the Celtic 
nations, the chieftainship was preserved in a particular family or royal 
race, as among the Picts;* and the Welsh, who had five royal and 
fifteen special tribes, instituted by Gryfyd ap Cynan.| This is the very 
characteristic of a patriarchal government, and it must have been only 
in consequence of an insurrection, or some calamity, that the succession 
could have been altered. 

It was most dangerous to attempt to obtain the sovereignty of a tribe 
or nation against the public consent. Celtillus, who had presided over 
Celtic Gaul, lost his life for aiming at this illegal power. J The Helvetii 
had a law by which one who had been found guilty of such an attempt 
was condemned to be burned alive. By the custom of the country he 
was allowed to defend himself, but, during the trial, he remained bound 
in chains. Orgetorix, having committed this crime, assembled all his 
friends and followers, to the number of 10,000, and all his dependants 
on the day of trial, for his rescue, if found guilty.^ 

Kings constituted, by the regular rules of succession, although enjoy- 
ing a complete influence over the tribe, could not with impunity act 
arbitrarily, or degenerate into tyrants, for the people, who confirmed 
their authority, could also check their severity, and even strip them of 
their power. They were controlled by the opinions of both chieftains 
and Druids, and were also bound by acknowledged laws; but they gov- 
erned more by example than authority, for to none but the priests was 
the power of correction submitted. || It was only when engaged in war 
that the Germans invested their generals with power of life and death, 
the subordinate chiefs appearing, for the time, to have resigned their 
individual power of deciding controversies. IT Tacitus says, the influ- 
ence of these princes arose from their ability to persuade, not their 
power to command; and observes it as an unusual instance that the 
Suiones, in his time, were governed by an absolute chief. The ancient 
kings of the Hebudse islands were bound to equity by known laws,** of 
which more shall be said presently. The Highland chiefs, although 
they retained full power over their respective clans after the establish- 
ment of the Scots' monarchy, usually introduced in the bonds of Man- 
rent, or deeds whereby they agreed to afford each other mutual support, 
a covenant excepting their allegiance to the sovereign. 

The connexion of the Gaelic chief and his people was not the rule of 
the strong over the weak; it was maintained by reciprocal advantages 
and kindnesses. All the members of a clan were connected with each 
other, and their common safety depended on their united fidelity and co- 
operation. Tyranny and injustice on the part of a chief could not fail to 

* Adomnan. t British Antiquities, p. 44. t Bello Gall. vii. 7. 

§ Bello Gall. i. 3. |1 Tac. de mor. Germ. IT Bello Gall. 

** Solinus, c. 22. 



MODE OF ELECTING THE CELTIC CHIEFS. 131 

weaken his influence, and, finally, estrange his kindred and his friends. 
The chief and his followers were mutually devoted to each other; and 
those who, from accident, old age, or otherwise, became unable to support 
themselves, were provided for by their generous leader, as the Mac Niels 
of Barra, whose chief always made up the loss which his tenants sustained 
through misfortune.* The whole members again cheerfully contributed 
to the support of their chief, who moderated his expenses to suit the 
circumstances of his people. In Ireland, there indeed appears to have 
been exactions that were by no means light. Coyny and livery, or meat 
for men and horses, are said to have been first introduced by Fitzmorris, 
Earl of Desmond, who had not 1000 marks yearly rent independent of 
his "Spendings," which Queen Elizabeth took, as they were the best 
part of his income. | These last payments were, perhaps, what is other- 
wise called black rents; other taxes were bonnaght, fowey, kenelagh, 
cuthings' cuddery, coshering, shragh, sorehin, carraghes, bonnagh- 
beg, bonnagh-burr, barnes, &c. &c, A singular custom prevailed in 
Wales; the three indispensables of a gentleman — his harp, his tunic, 
and his kettle — were, it appears by the Triads, paid by a general con- 
tribution. So much was the honor of the whole clan concentrated in 
the chief, that the greatest provocation was to reproach one with his 
vices or personal defects; such an insult was sufficient to lead to mortal 
combat. J 

The system of Clanship has been represented as intolerable oppression 
on the part of the chiefs, and abject slavery among the commons. It 
would, indeed, appear from Adomnan, ii. c. 34., that the Picts had Scot- 
ish bondmen; but we most probably misunderstand the passage. That 
the lower orders in a clan were so degraded is false, for they enjoyed a 
degree of consideration unknown to other systems of government; and 
it is impossible to believe, that if they were so cruelly treated, they 
should have so enthusiastically devoted themselves to their masters. To 
the Highlanders, the name of slavery is unknown. Among their conti- 
nental ancestors, those who were called slaves had each a house and 
certain ground, for which he paid a quantity of grain, cattle, or cloth, 
and thus far his subserviency extended. For any to beat, put in chains, 
or doom a slave to severe labor, was scarce known; the strongest mark 
of inferiority appeared when the chief happened, in his passion, to kill 
one: — he was not held liable to punishment. In other respects, the slave 
and the freed man were nearly on an equality. 

The singular custom of electing an ancient Celtic chief, or rather 
admitting the legitimate heir, was known among the British tribes as the 
Dlighe Tanaiste, which, although the source of lamentable discords and 
bloodshed in Ireland, convulsed by ambitious factions, continued long to 
be followed in Scotland with less mischief The law of Tanaistry not 
only regulated the government of the clans, but determined the succes- 

* Martin. t Present State of Ireland, 1673. Desid. cur. Hib. 

t Birt's Letters, ii. 9. 



132 TITLES OF THE CELTIC NOBILITY. 

sion of the kings of Scotland during the Celtic dynasty, or until 1056, 
and pervaded the constitution to a much later period. It is not, says 
Dr. Mac Pherson, above 200 years since this custom prevailed in the 
Highlands, and some instances have occurred later.* 

During the life of a chief, he generally appointed his successor from 
the members of his own family, for the descent by Tanaistry was to the 
oldest and most worthy of blood and name;! but, like the Gauls, he was 
obliged to obtain the consent of the clan, J who, previous to confirmation, 
required satisfactory proof of the military abilities of their future com- 
mander. The person so chosen was denominated the Tanaist, or Tan- 
istear, a word which signifies second person. 

The appointment of a Tanaist was evidently intended to prevent the 
danger of an interregnum or minority, for an experienced person, in the 
maturity of life, was always preferred to one more youthful: and a male, 
although illegitimate, was elected, to the exclusion of females; agreea- 
bly to which practice, the Galwegians, in the time of Alexander II., 
unanimously rose in support of a bastard son against three legitimate 
daughters. An uncle was also preferred to a nephew, whose grandfather 
survived the father. 

It was probably from a feeling of the relationship of all the members, 
and a sense of equality, that this singular mode of election was admitted. 
The custom did not, perhaps, work very well with turbulent people, 
among whom nothing can prevent occasional insurrection. At the same 
time, the practice, it must be confessed, appears but too well calculated 
to produce disorder. An elective government has ever been a source 
of contention; and, however well the Gauls regulated it, evils were 
sometimes the consequence. In Scotland, where Clanship became so 
much refined, it lost many of its inconveniences. Any tendency to 
misrule was checked by the people, whose influence a chief dare not 
contemn; for, according to a Celtic saying, " stronger than the Laird 
were the vassals." 

Strabo says, that the Gauls were anciently accustomed to elect a 
prince and a captain-general every year.^ There were some instances 
of two kings reigning jointly; but it was very unusual. Among the 
.3*^duans, it was not lawful for two of the same family to enjoy this dig- 
nity, or even to sit together in the public assemblies, j] 

The duty of the Tanaist, when appointed during the life of the chief, 
was to lead the army. He was the captain of the clan, and hence he 
appears to me to have been denominated the Toshich, which I do not 
find is intended for a difllsrent person. Tos and Toshich, in Gaelic, sig- 
nify the beginning or first part of any thing; so Toshich came to denote 
the general, or leader of the van: and the Mac Intoshes derive them- 
selves from Macduff", who obtained this right from Malcolm Ceanmore. 

* Diss. xiii. It even prevailed among the Saxons. He says, before the conquest of 
Ireland, Tanaist became obsolete ! t Davis's Reports on Tanaistry. 

i Caledonia i. 306. § Lib. iv. || Bello Gall. vii. 29. 



TITLES OF THE CELTIC NOBILITY. 133 

Dr. Mac Pherson says, the Tanaist and Toshich are different, which 
may be true in this manner: the one was the nomination of the chief and 
his blood relation, the other the choice of the people or the appointment 
of the king. 

A charter of David II. to John Mac Kennedy, the captain of Clan 
Muntercasduff, authorizes James Kennedy, who had married Mary 
Stewart, the king's daughter, and the heirs male, to exercise "the capi- 
tanship, head and commandment of his kin;"* and another charter of 
the same reign is " anent the clan of Clenconan, and who should be cap- 
tain thereof." f A charter of Nigel, Earl of Carrick, to Roland de 
Carrick and his heirs, of the chieftainship of his clan in all affairs of 
Kinkynell, or the right of leading the clan under the chief, was confirm- 
ed in 1241, and reconfirmed by Robert the Second. J The Saxon word 
Thane, the Taini of Domesday-book, is assuredly derived from the Cel- 
tic Tanaist. 

Women were excluded in general by the Tanaist law, but cases occur 
where they held the sovereignty of the clan by hereditary right, and 
sometimes acquired great influence. It is true that Veleda, who be- 
came so renowned, bore the character of a prophetess; but the heroic 
Bondiuca and Cartismandua, who became so powerful in Britain, were 
legitimate princesses. The Sitones, in the days of Tacitus, were gov- 
erned by a female. 

The title Rhi, a ruler, or king, was not the highest in Celtic prece- 
dency. Tierna, spelled Tighearna, literally signifies a lord or judge, and 
is applied to all great men. Even the Divine Being does not receive 
any other appellation, a proof that the people had no idea of any higher 
power, than what was possessed by their chiefs. The Rex of the Romans 
is apparently derived from the Celtic Rhi, as the Greek Tyrannos, a 
name originally applied to princes, both good and bad, and is from Tierna. 
This word which, in Welsh, is Teyrn, has been derived from ti, one, 
eren, land, as implying a landed gentleman.^ From this title comes 
Ochiern or Oigthierna, latinized Ogetharius in Scots law, a term ap- 
plied to the heir apparent of a lordshipj and composed of Oig, young, 
Tierna, Lord. Mactiern is an ancient dignity among the Bretons. 

lar Fhlath, from lar,' after, and Fhlath, a prince or commander, is 
pronounced larla, signifies literally, a secondary chief, and is the origin 
of the Saxon Earl, to which the Welsh larll and the Cornish Arluth are 
analogous. Other dignities were the Maormor, i. e, Maor, steward, 
officer or one who guarded, and more, great, || a person who had the gov- 
ernment gf provinces, and whose title was equivalent to the earls of after 
ages. Moar, in Manx, is a collector of manorial rents. 

Toscheoderach, in Gaelic, Toischuachdarach, i. e. a chief officer, is a 
term that frequently occurs. Niel Mac Niel sold to James Mac Niel 

* Robertson's Index of Charters, p. 149. No. 57. t Ibid. p. 57. No. 27. 

t Robertson's Index, p. 134. Crawford's Officers of State, 21. 

§ Dr. Mac Pherson. || Mawr, is great in Welsh, Cornish, and Armoric. 



134 LAWS OF HERITABLE SUCCESSION. 

the lands of Gigha, with the Toschodairach of Kyntyre;* and Robert 
the Third confirms a charter, in which John Lachlanson, of Durydarach, 
grants to Duncan Dalrumpil, the office of Toscheadaroch, in Nithsdale. 

In Ireland, the Tanaist had certain " cuttings and spendings on all 
the inhabitants." His lands descended to the eldest and most worthy of 
his blood and name, and his daughters received a certain number of 
cattle for their dowry. In the Isles, the Tierna's brother claimed Trian- 
tiernis, or a third part of the estate during his life, by right of immemorial 
custom. f Amongst the Germans, the children were their father's lawful 
heirs; and in default of issue, the nearest of kin succeeded. Amongst 
the Tencteri, one of their tribes, who were celebrated equestrians, the 
horses were heritable, yet did not descend to the eldest son, but to the 
one who had most signalized himself by deeds of valor. J 

The custom of Gavel-kind, a mode of succession still existing in dif- 
ferent parts of Britain, and accounted the common law of Kent, where 
the people have been always remarkable for their tenacity of ancient 
practices, was well known in Brehon law. By the Irish practice, le- 
gitimate and illegitimate, male and female, received an equal portion on 
the death of a parent: and if one of the family died, the chief or judge 
made a new partition of the whole ; for the share of the deceased did 
not go to his children. § By the Custumal of Kent, the fire hearth, and 
forty feet around it, remained with the youngest son. A husband, sur- 
viving his wife, was entitled to a moiety of her gavel-kind lands, so long 
as he remained unmarried; and a widow had a similar right, if she re- 
mained single, and "took dihgent heed that she was not found with 
child." A proof of infidelity we find, was by the child being heard to 
cry after its birth, and by the attestation of the people, assembled by hue 
and cry. II Like the practice in Scots' law, property at death was by this 
usage divided into the dead's part, the wife's part, and the bairn's part 
of gear. 

The inhabitants of Kent preserved the freedom of their Celtic ances- 
tors. In the thirtieth of Edward the First, it was declared, that in this 
country there were no villains, and that the son of one born there be- 
came free.tr Among other valuable privileges, the men of Kent claimed 
a right to a position in the vanguard of the army; hence, Drayton says, 

" Of all the English shires, be thou surnamed the free, 
And foremost ever placed, when they shall reckoned be." ** 

A conviction for felony, or any other serious crime, did not occasion a 
forfeiture of the lands, the heirs never being affected by the deeds of 
their parents, according to the adage. " The fader to the bond, the son 

* Caled. i. 451. t Dr. Mac Pherson says he was also called Armin. 

t Tac. de mor. Germ. 

§ Present State of Ireland. Before the time of Solon, property descended equally to 
all relations, but he permitted the Greeks to leave it by will to whom they chose. 
II Lambard's Perambulation. IT Robinson on Gavel-kind. 

** Polyalbion, Canto xviii. 



CELTIC TENURES 135 

to the lond." In Scotland, fourteen is the age at which pupilarity ter- 
minates. An heir of Gavel-kind became of age at fifteen. This mode 
of succession was abolished in Wales 3oth Hen. VIII. and by the .3rd 
of James I., it was declared illegal in Ireland, but Papists were after- 
wards excepted! Considerable difference of opinion exists respecting 
the derivation of Gavel-kind. Whittaker gives Gafael, Kinead, British, 
the family estate. Ghabhail, in Gaelic, is a receiving, and also a ten- 
ure; cine is kindred. 

The Udal inheritance in Orkney resembles Gavel-kind, but the 
brother received double the portion of a sister. The kindly tenure in 
the vicinity of the royal castle of Lochmaben, where the tenants hold of 
the king, and transmit simply by possession, is a vestige of the Celtic 
system of common holding, and seems much older than the time of 
Robert Bruce, by whom it is thought to have been first granted. 

"The tenure by the straw," a customary freehold peculiar to the Isle 
of Man, is also a relic of this ancient usage. The possession descends 
by right of primogeniture, and extends to females, with certain reserva- 
tions to widows, fee. The Earl of Derby having in the seventeenth 
century prevailed on several of the inhabitants to surrender this right 
for tenantcies at will, a prophecy embodied in an old song, foretelling 
that none who were accessary to this alienation of their right should be 
able long to retain an acre, is said to have been duly fulfilled. 

By the old Scotish practice, in giving a farm to a tenant for a long or 
short period, he was presented with a stick and some straw, which he 
immediately returned to the proprietor, and they were mutually bound.* 
Lands continued to be held in the Highlands, without the formality of 
writing, according to the ancient practice in Scotland, until the middle 
of the eighteenth century. | 

The right of primogeniture among the Celtic race was, however, 
obliged to give way to superiority in military abilities. The anecdote 
of the young chief of Clanrannald is well known. On his return to take 
possession of his estate, observing the profuse quantity of cattle that had 
been slaughtered to celebrate his arrival, he very unfortunately remark- 
ed, that a few hens might have answered the purpose. This exposure 
of a narrow mind, and inconsiderate display of indifference to the feel- 
ings of his people, were fatal. " We will have nothing to do with a hen 
chief," said the indignant clansmen, and immediately raised one of his 
brothers to the dignity. So highly did the Highlanders value the quali- 
fications of their commander, that in the deposition of one whom they 
deemed unworthy, they risked the evil of a deadly feud. On this occa- 
sion, the Frasers, among whom young Clanrannald had been fostered, 
took arms to revenge his disgrace; but they were, after a desperate bat- 
tle, defeated with great slaughter, and the unhappy hen chief perished 
on the field. 

It has been doubted whether the Gaelic chiefs ever consulted with the 

* Martin. t Lord Karnes. 



136 POWER OF THE COMMONS. 

elders, or, if they did so, whether it was otherwise than as a council of 
war. It appears to me that they had a regular senate, whose advice 
they availed themselves of on all occasions. The Pictish kings had such 
an establishment, as we learn from Adomnan, and " the chiefs of the Yles 
chose a king, and adjoined to him ane counsel of the wisest."* This 
counsel was formed, perhaps, of those, who also acted as judges. Near 
Isla, says Buchannan, is Ilan na Covihaslop, or the island of council, 
where fourteen of the chief men sat daily for the administration of jus- 
tice. | From the Regiam Majestatem, it appears the chiefs had twelve 
counsellors, who sat in deliberation with them; an establishment to which 
I have seen reference in an old poem, and which is believed to have 
been introduced in the Hebrides by the Norse men. It was, however, 
common to all Celtic nations, the people always maintaining a right to 
advise, and even a power to control their rulers. In a Gaelic poem 
dedicated by Mac Dary, to O'Brian, of Thomond, it is said, "that it 
was every man's duty to possess the ear of his sovereign, with useful 
truths." The declaration made in 1309 by the Scots nobility, is a strong 
proof of the limited nature of the monarchy. It is there stated, that the 
title of King Robert Bruce was conferred by the people; and that, be 
ing advanced by their authority to the crown, he was thereby made King 
of Scotland.! 

The public meetings of the Celts were frequent, for nothing could be 
done but by popular consent: the nobles met occasionally by themselves. 
On CfEsar's advance into Gaul, he says, a great council of princes was 
held. Polybius also notices these assemblies. When practicable, they 
were held on certain days, the full or change of the moon being reckon- 
ed most fortunate. The people never met without being armed, delib- 
erating, as Nicholas Damascenus expresses it, on the affairs of state, 
" girded with iron."§ When the Suevian monarchy had under the Ro- 
mans become absolute, the arms were deposited in a public arsenal, 
" guarded by slaves," for it did not suit, says Tacitus, " the interest of 
an arbitrary prince to trust the power of arms with any but a slave." 
In the public assemblies were chosen the chiefs who administered justice, 
to each of whom were assigned one hundred persons, chosen from the 
people, to accompany him and assist him with their counsel and authori- 
ty, jj The chief magistrate among the ^duans was elected annually. 
He was called Vergobretus, and had the power of life and death, but 
was not allowed to go out of the kingdom.ll Fear gubreath, (he man 
to command, or the person who judges, is a well known Gaelic appella- 
tion. The Germans have Werkober;** and the Mayors of Autun, the 
capital of the iEduans, are still called Vierg.tt 

In these assemblies it was allowed to present accusations and prose- 



* " Manner of choosing the Kings of Scotland of old." MS. in Brit. Museum. 
t Lib. i. I The Right of the House of Stewart to the Crown considered, 1746. 

§ Ap. Stobceus, 470. || Tac. do Mor. Germ. IT Bello Gall. i. 14. 31. 

** Wcrk, opus. Ober, supremum. tt Diss. Historique sur divers sujets, 1706 



POPULAR ASSEMBLIES. 137 

cute capital offences On small affairs, the chiefs decided; but on those 
of greater moment, the whole nation deliberated. The king's influence, 
like that of any other member, arose from his ability to persuade, for he 
possessed no individual authority to command, and had only the privilege 
of speaking first. All those matters on which the people decided, were 
afterwards examined and discussed by the chiefs.* Here are the Celtic 
houses of Lords and Commons. 

At their feasts, which were frequent among all the Celtae, the Ger- 
mans deliberated about choosing their princes, reconciling parties, form- 
ing affinities, and discussed the questions of peace and war. They 
reckoned this the most proper time for considering those subjects, the 
heart being opened, and the mind fired with great and bold ideas, for 
these people were nowise subtle or politic, but disclosed to each other 
their most secret thoughts. But they did not rashly decide on any mat- 
ter, for they met next day, and coolly revised and canvassed the various 
opinions of the preceding evening.* " They consuU," says Tacitus, 
" when they know not how to dissemble; they determine, when they can- 
not mistake." 

This, indeed, appears a little at variance with what Caesar has said of 
the Gauls, that it was not permitted to speak of public affairs, but by 
permission of the council, a regulation necessary to prevent the mischief 
which occurred, in consequence of the credulity of the people, who held 
slight reports as if they were a matter of experience. | The excessive 
curiosity of the Gauls, so similar to that of the present Highlanders, led 
them to stop passengers, and oblige them to tell all the news they had 
heard, before they were suffered to proceed; and any vague rumour 
affected them as if it were certain information. It was, therefore, a law 
with some, that those who had any news, should communicate with none 
until the magistrates had been informed, who, to prevent any commotion, 
were wont to conceal some things, and only impart to the public that 
which it was necessary should be known. J Spenser relates an anecdote 
of a Frenchman who, struck with the curiosity of the Irish, having met 
with one on the continent after many years' separation, asked him if he 
had ever heard the news about which he so anxiously inquired when in 
Ireland. If you meet one in the Highlands, this thirst for information 
will be very apparent; the answer to any question you may ask, is like- 
ly to be, " Where may you have come from?" " You are going south, it 
is likely;" " You come from such a place, perhaps;" or so on. 

Among the ancient Celts there was no distinction of seats in places 
of assembly, but each sat where he pleased. Every one was heard with 
attention, and a singular custom prevailed in order to preserve order; 
if any one interrupted the person who was speaking, an officer came 
with a drawn knife, and, with threatening, ordered him to desist. This 

* Tac. de Mor. Germ. t Bello Gall. vii. 4. 

t Ibid. iv. 5. In Iceland, the chief men, by law, had the privilege of first convers 
ing with the crew of a vessel that had newly arrived. 

18 



138 THE STONE OF DESTINY. 

he repeated a second and a third time; and if the party still continued 
refractory, the messenger cut ofT as much of his garment as rendered 
what was left useless.* 

When the Highland chief entered on his government, he was placed 
on the top of a cairn, raised in the form of a pyramid, and around him, 
but lower, stood his friends and followers. One of the principal persona 
then delivered him a sword and a white wand; and the orator, bard or 
Druid, recounting his pedigree, enumerated the exploits of his ancestors, 
and exhorted the young chief to emulate their noble example. | By the 
Tanaist law, in Ireland, when the chief was elected, he stood on a stone 
placed on a hill, and took an oath to preserve all the ancient customs 
inviolate, J and deliver peaceable possession to his successor. He, like 
the Highland chief, received a wand, and, on descending from the stone, 
he turned thrice round backwards and thrice forwards. The Tanaist, on 
his election, performed the same ceremonies, but set one foot only on 
the seat of inauguration. The stone on which the Lords of the Isles 
were crowned, bearing the marks of the feet, still exists; and near the 
cathedral of Cashel is one used by the Kings of Munster for a similar 
purpose. 

The practice of crowning a king upon a stone is of extreme antiquity. 
The celebrated coronation chair, the seat of which is formed of the slab 
on which the kings of Scotland were inaugurated, is an object of curios- 
ity to those who visit Westminster Abbey. The history of this stone is 
carried back to a period far beyond all authentic record; and the Irish 
say that it was first in their possession. According to Wintoun, its 
original situation was in lona. It was certainly in Argyle, where it is 
believed to have remained long at the castle of DunstafTnage, before it 
was removed to Scone, the place of coronation for the kings of Scotland, 
whence it was carried to London by Edward the First. This curious 
relic is of a dark color, and appears to be that sort found near Dundee. 
It was looked on with great veneration by the ancient Scots, who believ- 
ed the fate of the nation depended on its preservation. The Irish called 
it Cloch na cinearnna, the stone of fortune, and the Scots preserve the 
following oracular verse: 

Cinnidh Sciiit saor am fine, 

Mar breug am faistine : 

Far am faighear an lia-fail, 

Dlighe flaitheas do ghabhail. 

" The race of the free Scots shall flourish, if this prediction is not 
false: wherever the stone of destiny is found, they shall prevail by the 
right of Heaven." Its possession was considered of so much impor- 
tance, that its restitution was made an express article in a treaty of 
peace, and the subject of a personal conference between David the Sec- 

* Strabo, iv p. 197. t Martin's Western Islands, 102, &c. 

t Spenser's View of the State of Ireland, 1G33. Some of these stones bore the im 
pression of a foot mark. 



ORIGIN OF FEUDAL TENURES. 139 

ond and Edward.* The office of placing the king on this stone was the 
hereditary right of the Earls of Fife. 

Saxo Grainmaticus, lib. 1, says it was the ancient custom in Denmark 
to crown the kings sitting on a stone. In 1396, in the circle called Mo- 
rasten, near Upsall, this ceremony was performed. It is curious to find 
this Celtic practice retained in the kingdom of Britain, and to find its re- 
vered monarch a descendant of the ancient kings of the " free Scots." 

These inauguration seats were always placed on eminences. On 
Quothquan Law, a beautiful green hill in the ward of Lanark, is a stone 
artificially hollowed, on which it is said that Wallace sat in conference 
with his chiefs. 

The famous coronation chair was placed upon the moot hill of Scone, 
and, seated on it, the kings of Scotland promulgated the laws, as is 
recorded of Kenneth MacAlpin, about 850, of Malcolm II. 1006, and 
Robert the Bruce, who, the day after his coronation, 1306, sat " super 
montem de Scone." The Gaelic moid, from which the Saxon, moot, 
Swedish, mote, 8tc. are derived, signifies a court or place of meeting; 
and these picturesque knolls are found all over Scotland and Ireland, 
The Tinwald of Man is a singular object of this nature. On this mount, 
the ancient kings were crowned, and the name signifies the place of 
convocation; a term applied to the ancient Irish parliament. "j" 

The learned Whittaker says. Feudal tenures are coeval with the 
plantation of the island; and from all that is preserved concerning the 
Celtic form of government, he is warranted in the assertion; not that 
the system, as it appeared when refined by the Normans, prevailed in 
the first ages, but those usages on which it was founded originated with 
the Celts. Another writer has declared that feudism extends from the 
earliest ages, and the rudiments of it may be clearly perceived in the 
institutions of clanship. J We have seen the freedom of this mode of 
government, and observed that the customs of the people were regulated 
by certain rules of immemorial practice. It has, indeed, been stated 
that there being but two classes, the nobles and villains, among the 
British tribes, it was impossible for the feudal system to exist in that 
state of society; but the latter class were not debased in those early 
periods: in Kent, where the Celtic manners long remained, villainage 
was unknown. 

The followers of a Celtic chief were treated with a degree of respect 
unknown in those countries where the laborers were considered as the 
live stock of a farm, and were regularly sold with the land whereon they 
lived. The lowest members of a clan were of some consequence in the 
community, and felt a lively interest in all the quarrels m which the 
tribe might be engaged. They followed their leaders, not from com- 
pulsion, but from a sense of the justice of the cause, and from a venera- 

* AylofFs Cal. of Charters, Introd. p. 58. 
t See .Johnstone's Ant. Celto Normannia. 
I Dr. Mac Pherson's Diss p. 140. 



140 KNIGHTHOOD. 

tion to their superiors, their natural chiefs. With them "the power of 
a father was the prerogative of a sovereign; and the obedience of a son 
the submission of a subject."* The rude plenty of the chief's hospita- 
ble board was the only pay that he could bestow, or the clansmen ac- 
cept; the gifts which the warriors received, being accepted, as they were 
bestowed, without being considered as obligations;! ^^^ ^^^^ mode of 
life, " however it might accidentally weaken the several republics, in- 
vigorated the general character." J 

It is a fact that many Highland chiefs had no better proof of title to 
their lands than having possessed them from time immemorial, and were 
much alarmed when Bruce required them to exhibit their charters. It is 
even related of some, that, at a much later period, they felt most indig- 
nant that they should be required to hold by a roll of parchment what 
their ancestors had acquired by their sword, and held so long by no 
other tenure. 

Mac Donald of Keppoch, disdaining to hold by a sheepskin the lands 
of Glenroy, in 1687, asserted by arms his right, against Mac Intosh, who 
had obtained a crown charter of the disputed territory, vanquished and 
took him prisoner, in a desperate battle, and then compelled him to re- 
nounce his acquired claim. In requital for his temerity, Keppoch's 
lands were laid waste, with fire and sword, by a strong body of regular 
troops. The ancestors of Lord Ree had no charter for their lands until 
1499, 

The Lords of the Isles, in conveying lands to their followers, used a 
very simple form of charter, drawn up, according to the curious ancient 
practice, in rhyme, and running in this form: "I, Donald, chief of the 
Mac Donalds, give, here in my castle, to Mac Kay, a right to Kilma- 
humag, from this day till to-morrow, and so on forever." Kneeling on 
the "black stones," he confirmed these grants. 

Camden, Spelman, and other learned authors, consider knighthood to 
have been derived fron> the public investment of youth with arms,§ a 
practice, as already described, that bears a striking resemblance to that 
of feudism. This system was decidedly military, and the whole institu- 
tions of Celtic policy were of a similar character. The military expedi- 
tions of the Celtic warrior, the probation of his virtues and abilities, were 
like those of the knights of later times, who, when there was no field for 
exertion at home, set out in quest of adventures, and, by constant exer- 
cise, preserved their warlike prowess. Chivalrous individuals in the 
Highlands were accustomed to go about like knights errant, and if not 
propitiated by a certain tribute, they asked a fair battle without favor. 
Dr. Mac Pherson found some persons who had seen these champions. 

Csesar says the robbery of other tribes was encouraged among the 
Gauls, to prevent effeminacy. Military virtue must have been highly 
valued where it was the sole safe-guard of national independence. 

* Whittaker. t Tac. de Mor. Germ. c. 21, 

t Gibbon's Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, c. 12. 
§ See also Dr. Mac Pherson's Diss 



FORAYS OF THE HIGHLANDERS. 141 

" Treacherous," exclaims the eloquent Tacitus, " is that repose which 
you enjoy amongst neighbors that are powerful and fond of rule and 
mastership; when the sword is drawn, quietness and fair dealing will be 
in vain pleaded by the weaker." * 

Careful as the Celts were to cherish a warlike spirit, they did not live 
in that turbulence and anarchy which some have supposed. They fought 
desperately in a cause of quarrel: but valor was not more esteemed than 
fidelity to their fiiends and hospitality to strangers, — two characteristic 
virtues of the age of chivalry. To kill a stranger, was death; exile the 
only punishment for the murder of a native, "f 

The Ligurians and Iberi guarded those who were passing through 
their respective countries, whether Greeks or Celts; and a fine was ex- 
acted from the people in whose territories a traveller might receive an 
injury.J 

Distracted with inveterate feuds, often promoted to accelerate their 
destruction; living distinct from the Lowlanders, and obnoxious to their 
laws; yet the state of the Highlanders appears at no time to have been 
so bad as that of the people on the borders of the two kingdoms, where 
the government was often unable to repress the greatest outrages. 

The Highlanders made their Creachs§ on hostile tribes only, or car- 
ried their hariships into districts of the low country; where the inhabitants 
were inimical to their welfare, and were taught to consider the moun- 
taineers as " barbarous, ethnick," and opposed to all social order. 

Their forays were only a retaliation for recent injuries, or in revenge 
of former wrongs, for they were careful of offending a clan with whom 
they were in amity. The Camerons having, by mistake, attacked the 
Grants of Moynes, the chief complained severely to Lochiel of the out- 
rage, who sent an immediate apology, regretting that, through ignorance, 
they had attempted to plunder the lands of their friends, and offering to 
submit the adjustment of their respective losses to arbitration. He had 
not much reason to dread the award, for the Grants had defeated the in- 
vaders; and their chief complains that he had eight dead and twelve un- 
der cure, " whilk he knew not who should live or who should die." 

They did not engage in these raids from a mere pleasure in robbing 
their neighbors. There is reason to believe that they submitted to many 
grievances before they resorted to arms. A scarcity made them bethink 
themselves on whom they could levy a contribution. A hint from a 
clansman, who was obliged, from hunger, to gnaw a bone, induced his 
chief to undertake a foray which is still celebrated as creach an aisne, 
i. e. of the rib; but it is absurd to suppose they would, on any consider- 
ation, rob a friendly or unoffending tribe. When they carried off" cattle, 
or other spoil, it was with the consciousness that their own herds were 
exposed to the risk of being appropriated by others. Rapme and mutual 

*De Mor. Germ. Gordon's Trans. 

t Nich. Damascenus, ap. StobEeus, 470. t Aristotle. 

§ Creagh, a prey. The same word in German is war. 



142 BLACKMAIL 

aggression were, in some degree, unavoidable consequences of the state 
of society; but the evil was not so serious to the inhabitants as might be 
supposed. "The creach," says a Gaelic proverb, "is not so bad, from 
which the half is recovered; " and again, " What the worse is one of the 
foray, if it lessen not the race; " property, it has been observed, must be 
perfectly established before the loss of it can be felt. There was no pe 
culiar pleasure in eating cattle that were not their own. Derrick, in- 
deed, says of the Irish, that, 

"The stolen horse, the mutton, and the beef, — 
Which things to want, who holds it not a grief." 

But the Highlander knew that a rupture with his neighbors placed his 
own flocks in peril; while, if the war was not successful, hunger and 
misery was certain to ensue. 

The Highlanders had a peculiar faculty of tracing the cattle which 
had been lifted or carried off. They were able not only to trace their 
foot-marks on the grass, but even to distinguish those which were merely 
straying from others driven along by the enemy. 

When the track of the cattle was lost, the person on whose property 
it might happen, became liable either to recover the trace, or make res- 
titution to the amount lost. This wholesome regulation acquired the 
force of law. It was a no less salutary regulation which made a chief 
answerable for the deed of his clansman, and obliged him to deliver up 
an offender. This was called cincogish, from cine, a tribe, and congish, 
affinity. Alfred had a law of this kind, and it was embodied in the stat- 
utes of Scotland. 

Tasgal money was a reward offered for the recovery of stolen cattle; 
but the Highlanders were so averse to a system by which they were lia- 
ble to get into awkward circumstances, that it was unanimously discour- 
aged; some clans, as the Camerons, bound themselves by oath never to 
accept such a bribej and to put to death any individual who should do 
otherwise. 

Their dexterity in plundering induced the people of the low country, 
and even borough towns, to agree with certain parties for protection, on 
condition of their paying a stipulated sum under the name of black mail. 

These agreements were for a certain extent of country and a limited 
time. If the mail was not punctually paid, the Highlander had little 
difliculty in liquidating his own claims; and if the cattle were stolen by 
others, he made good the loss. It was usually stipulated that, in case 
of civil commotion, the parties should be released. If one had a claim 
on another, and could not get payment, he might carry off as many cat- 
tle as were sufficient to cover the amount, provided he sent notice that 
he had done so, when out of the reach of pursuit, and intimated his wish 
to return them if his demand were satisfied. 

The chief received two-thirds of the spoil acquired in a foray, or its 

produce ; and the other third was the share of the captors.* It was, 

— — — — 



LAWS. 143 

besides, customary to pay a certain number of cattle, or amount of other 
booty, to a chieftain, through whose lands the party might be obhged to 
pass. About 1341, John Munro, tutor to the laird of Foulis, having, in 
revenge of certain injuries, carried off a prey of cattle from Strathardale, 
in Perth, was asked by Macintosh, in passing Moyhall, for part of the 
spoil, according to custom. A reasonable portion was offered, but Mac- 
intosh insisting on the half, collected his vassals, and, pursuing the 
Munros, overtook them at Clach na harry, who, sending the booty to a 
place of safety, stood to their arms and overthrew their assailants, most 
part of whom, with the chief, were slain. 

Laws are valuable materials in the history of nations: they are true 
evidences of the domestic state of society, at the periods when they 
prevailed. Laws are at first traditionary, and in this state they existed 
among the Celtic nations, long before they were written. Until the 
kingdom of Scotland was firmly consolidated, the tribes were governed 
by their traditionary customs and local usages. 

The Scotish law was undoubtedly indigenous, and appears compose*! 
of the unrecorded practice of the Celts, and much of the statute la"«" 
which prevailed in England, and must have been equally derived fror- 
ancient British customs. Much of the existing common law of the larr' 
is to be deduced from the era of Druidism, and Montesquieu shows, tha 
the English constitution itself emanates from a pastoral state of society 
The old terms in Scots law being Gaelic, and the laws themselves dis- 
tinctly pointing to the customs of those nations, it must be inferred tha' 
the system of jurisprudence existed before it was embodied in the 
"Regiam Majestatem." To the Celtic institutions of our ancestors, 
are assuredly to be referred most of the national statutes, and the ancient 
usages of Scotland, which Lord Stair declares to be a common law. 

A very ancient body of laws, called the Malmutin, from their author, 
was translated from Celtic into Latin by Gildas Albanius, and rendered 
into Saxon by King Alfred.* Fingal is celebrated by the Irish for his 
wisdom in making laws, some of which, O 'Flaherty says, were extant 
in his own time. Adomnan, who lived in the end of the seventh century, 
propagated the Macentian code; and Aodh, or Ethfin, enacted laws 
that are noticed in the Pictish Chronicle, as those of Edi. They were 
renewed by Kenneth Mac Alpin, the celebrated king and legislator. 
The Welsh laws, although of high antiquity, were not recorded until 
the time of Hwyel Dha, in the tenth century. That those of Scotland, 
in the beginning of the fourteenth century, were different from the 
English, we learn by the attempts of Edward the First, to abolish the 
" usages and customs of the Scots and Brets." In Galloway, they were 
confirmed by Robert the Bruce and David the First,! and remained in 
force longer than in other parts of the kingdom. In Ireland, they exist- 
ed within these two hundred years. 

The Druids combined the offices of priest and legislator, and decided 

* Dempster's Hist. Ecclesiast. vi. t Robertson's Index of Charters. 



144 TINGS, CIRCLES, OR LAW COURTS. 

according to maxims traditionally handed down from the most remote 
periods. Law and religion are closely connected in primitive society, 
and not entirely disjoined in periods the most refined. The Celtic priest- 
hood possessed the highest power; but, during war, they shared it with 
the chiefs, who, in peace, were also permitted to decide in minor affairs. 
The Feargubreath was, most likely, of the druidical order. The office 
was anciently elective on the continent, but in these islands the judge 
was hereditary. He was styled the Brehon or Brithib, and gave name 
to the laws by which he decided. In Man they are still called Breast. 

These judges had a good farm assigned for their support, and were 
besides entitled to the eleventh, twelfth,* or thirteenth,! of the fines 
imposed. In the Isle of Man, the Keys, who were anciently called 
Taxiaxi: the Deemsters, the Coroners, and all officers of justice, for- 
merly lived at the king's expense. The judge had the assistance of a 
council of twelve or fourteen, who, in the Western Isles, sat daily for 
the administration of justice. J He had no power of legislation, for the 
king himself could not abrogate or enact a law without the consent of 
the people. It does not appear that in early ages there was a regular 
jury. In the twelfth century, the people of Galloway decided without 
one. The Northern nations we, however, find had anciently twelve 
compurgators; and in some parts of Norway the peasants are at this 
day tried by a jury of themselves, whose decision is final, and who pro- 
portion the punishment with strict regard to the guilt of the parties. To 
dispute the award of this rustic tribunal, is to become an outcast from 
society. § In Man, twelve men from each sheading were summoned to 
attend the Alting; but this number, being a total of seventy-two, from 
whom the doomers were chosen, was reduced by Sir John Stanley to 
twenty-four, who are now self-elected. 

The Brehon required no clerk to register the proceedings. In Scot- 
land, he sat on the top of a hillock, and sometimes placed himself on the 
middle of a bridge. In Ireland, we are told, he " sitteth him downe on 
a banke, the lords and the gentlemen at variance round about him." 
David the First, of Scotland, sat on certain days at the door of his pal- 
ace, to hear and decide the causes of the poor.]! The practice of hold- 
ing courts in the open air, which so long prevailed in Britain, was a 
reUc of Druidism, which subsisted in most European countries. The 
court of Areopagus, at Athens, sat in the open air; and Pliny informs 
us the Roman senate was first so held. IT That circular enclosures of 
stone were used as courts of justice, and places for trial by combat, is 
well known.** In Scandinavia, they were long so appropriated; and in 
Shetland and Orkney the practice continued to very late times. In 

* Dr. Mac Pherson t Highland Soc. Rep. on Ossian's Poems. 

t Buchannan. § Conway's Journey. 

II Scotichron, v. 20. H Lib. viii. c. 45. 

** One of these on the hill of Tyrebacher, Aberdeenshire, is represented at the end 
of this chapter. 



MANNER OF HOLDING THEM. 146 

these last places they were called Ting, which, according to Dr. Mur- 
ray, originally signified to surround, and is therefore of similar import 
with the Gaelic cearcail, the Circus or round temple, which seems to 
have been the place where laws were originally enacted and promul- 
gated: the Tings being, at first, judicial only, but in process of time 
they became also legislative. 

On the abolition of Druidism, the courts which had been held in the 
circles, were transferred to the church; but the practice being deemed 
incompatible with Christianity, it was prohibited by an express canon. 
It appears to me, that from this originated the Moothills, or eminences, 
on which law courts were afterwards held. The most remarkable object 
of this kind is the Tynwald, in the Isle of Man, represented in the 
vignette to this Chapter, upon which the Duke of Athol, as descendant 
of the ancient kings, annually presides. In 1417, Sir John Stanley, 
then king, was thus instructed in the regal duties, and official practice, 
which are almost the same in the present day. He was to sit in his 
robes of state upon the hill of Tynwald in a chair, his face to the east, 
and his sword before him, held with the point upwards; his barons in 
the second degree sitting beside him, his beneficed men and deemsters 
also sitting before him; his clerks, knights, 'squires, and yeomen being 
around him in the third degree. The commons, with three clerks in 
their surplices, stood outside the circle of the hill. The deemsters called 
in the coroners, who carried their rods in their hands, and their weapons 
about them, either sword or axe. The Moars of every sheading came 
also, and the coroner of Glenfaba made a fence with much solemnity, 
prohibiting all from making disturbance, under the pain of hanging and 
drawing, while the king opened the court, promising to decide as up- 
rightly as the staff in his hand. 

The Godordsman, Gode, or priest, summoned the inhabitants by a 
stick or stone. The token of the kings of Man, and of his deemster, 
was a small slate, on which their initials were inscribed, and it was a 
penalty of £3 to falsify it. These simple warrants were only prohibited 
in 1763. When a person was murdered, an arrow was sent to assemble 
a Ting. In Ireland, when any one was wronged, he sat on an ox's hide 
in a public thoroughfare. All went armed to these meetings, and within 
the limits of the ting no one was admitted without permission, the defend- 
ants in a trial being obliged to stand extra circum.* In Ireland, the 
moothills are called raths, and sometimes mota. In Scotland they are 
usually on the margin of a river, and in the immediate vicinity of a reli- 
gious edifice, forming an interesting object in the landscape. The one 
here represented is situated close to the ancient site of the church of 
Inverury, in Aberdeenshire, and is denominated the Bass, probably from 
bas, death or judgment. "j" 

* Dr. Hibbert, in Trans, of Society of Ant. of Scotland. 

t See Sir J. M.unro, of Foulis, on the Hills of Dunipace. Trans, ut sup. 

19 



146 



COMPENSATION FOR CRIMES. 




The Celtic laws were remarkable for favoring an equality of right, and 
the state of civilisation was strongly conducive to the preservation of a 
community of property and labor. Agriculture was pursued by the assist- 
ance of a whole tribe, and every other occupation of general importance 
was executed in a similar manner; the labor of every individual being 
given to a work of which all received the benefit. In private affairs this 
principle was not overlooked. Among other instances, by the Manx 
law, any one in want of stone or lime may dig in his neighbor's land foi 
it, paying only a reasonable satisfaction for breaking the ground. In 
the Western Isles, all fishing-lines were required to be of an equal 
length, to prevent any thing like an unfair advantage.* 

Among the Celtse almost every crime was expiated by a payment, 
made either to the party injured or to the chief. Tacitus found it " a 
temper wholesome to the commonwealth, that homicide and lighter trans- 
gressions were settled by the payment of horses or cattle, part to the 
king or community, part to him or his friends who had been wronged." 
The Germans hung traitors and deserters on trees; cowards, sluggards, 
and the depraved, were smothered under hurdles in mud and bogs, to show 
thereby that glaring iniquities ought to be punished openly; effeminacy, 
and those crimes which are less obvious, but destructive to morality, 
and hurtful to the state, ought to be removed from sight and from the 
face of the earth. 

The law of Scotland allowed this mode of compensation for crime in 
most cases, the fine or mulct being termed Eric, a reparation. Accord- 
ing to O'Conner, this law was first promulgated in Ireland, anno 164, by 
which, says Dr. Warner, the Irish were brought to more humanity, 
honesty, and good manners, than had ever been before known. In his 
memoirs of Sir Thomas More, he continues, "we too far infringe on 
God's commands, by taking away the lives of men for jtheft and robbery. 
It is not only a pernicious error, — for extreme justice is extreme injury, 
— but a national abomination. The wilfulness of the crime is no sort of 
excuse for making the punishment far exceed the heinousness of the 
transgression." Roderick, the last king, exacted 3600 cows as an eric 
for the slaughter of Murcertach O'Brian, King of Munster, in 1168."}" 



* Martin. 



t O'Conner's Diss. 



GAELIC LAW TERMS. 147 

When the Lord-Deputy told Mac Guire that he was to send a sheriff 
into Fermanagh, lately made a county, " he shall be welcome," said the 
chief, " but let me know his eric, that if he lose his head I may put it on 
the country."* 

Cro, a ransom, by metonymy, signified both blood and death. The 
cro of a villain was 16 cows, of an earl's son, or thane, 100, of an earl 
140, and that of the king of Scots was 1000 cows. I A?ythments in 
Scotland were anciently paid in cattle, and the terms prove that the law 
originated in pastoral society. J 

Kelchy or Kelchyn, " ane penalty enjoined to a man who confesses 
his fault," is from the Gaelic gial, a pledge, cine, kindred, or, perhaps, 
cean, head, the price of one, or a fine for manslaughter. An earl paid 
for this 66 1 cows, his son, or a thane, 44 cows, twenty-one pence and | 
of a bodle.^ This fine belonged to the kinsman of the person slain; but 
if the wife of a rustic was killed, the lord had the kelchyn, and the pa- 
rents the cro and the calpes. 

Enach is a bounty, and sometimes means a ransom. 
Calmes, according to Dr. Mac Pherson, comes from gial, a pledge, 
and meas, an estimate; but it seems, rather, caelmeas, the price of a gael. 
The Calpich was a payment made to the chief, and is derived from 
calpa, a cow, in many cases the only article that could be given. The 
Irish revenue was always paid in cattle, and in Scotland it was the same, 
even in the time of Bruce. [j Martin says that a tenant was bound to 
make payment whether he resided on the estate or not. 

Cane signifies rent, and cean-mhath, or cunveth, was a payment of 
first fruits; not, however, peculiar to the clergy, for in 1186 it was 
awarded by a jury to the king, out of Galloway. IT Cane duties are, to 
this day, exacted on many farms. The "Mails" of Scotish law is an- 
other Celtic term, and signifies rent, or tribute. 

The usual services are labor in seed time, hay and corn harvest, and 
the " casting and leading" of peats, or turf, certain quantities of spin- 
ning, payment of lambs, fowls, eggs, butter, &c. &c. A laird in north 
Knapdale had a servitude of a night's lodging on one of his vassals, and 
in the proof taken of the value of his estate, there occurs "Item, for 
cuidoich 20s.** 

A tenant in Caithness spun a certain quantity of woollen yarn, and so 
much of lint, paid a quantity of oats to feed the laird's horses: trout, if 
near a river or lake; and, if in the vicinity of a wood, a certain number 
of nashs, i. e. binders of birch, to secure the laird's cows. 

In Man, the swine of felons belonged to the king, the goats to the 
queen.|| 



• State of Ireland, 1673. t Regiam Majestatem. 

t In all Gaelic dialects are terms of a similar signification. 

§ Skene's Auld Laws of Scotland. || Caledonia. 

H Regiam. MaJ . ** Agric. of Argyle. 1 1 Sacheverel. 



148 STATE OF THE FEMALES IN CELTIC SOCIETY 

According to Diodorus, the Celts impaled on stakes and turned on 
lofty piles those who were guilty of any great crime, after a close im- 
prisonment of five years; and in like manner he says they used their 
captives, some cutting the throats, burning or otherwise destroying both 
men and beasts. Among the ancient Caledonians, malefactors who were 
sentenced to death were burnt between two fires, from whence is deriv- 
ed the saying, " edir da teine Bheil," he is between the two flames of 
Bel. The Breith-a-nuas, still used for a judge's decision, points to the 
era of Druidism. 

The sacrifice of captives, which was considered, in certain cases, ne- 
cessary for propitiating the deity, may be here noticed. The Celts were 
naturally humane, and willingly acknowledged bravery in an enemy; as 
in the case of the Cimbri, who released a part of the Roman army when 
captured, from admiration of their courage ; but they also, at times, 
committed great atrocities. A general, being returned from the pursuit 
of an enemy, picked out from among the captives the choicest and 
strongest young men, and sacrificed them to the gods: the rest he shot 
to death with darts, most of whom he had long known, but former friend- 
ship was no argument to spare a man of them.* This severity was, 
however, unusual, for they appear to have generally behaved with mod- 
eration when victorious. When they had slain their enemy, we are told, 
they hung his head about the necks of their horses, and delivered the 
spoils, besmeared with blood, to their servants, to be carried before in 
triumph, themselves following and chanting the paean of victory. 

The state of Celtic society may be farther elucidated by viewing the 
condition of the females, for civilisation is marked by the station which 
women hold in society. Among savages, the intercourse between the 
sexes is regulated by no principles of morality, and the females are al- 
ways degraded. Refined nations treat them with the nicest honor and 
most punctilious respect. | 

Csesar has, in his fifth book, left a record which is extremely unfavor- 
able to the Gaulish and British character. The former are said to have 
despised their females, and the latter are represented as indulging in a 
community of wives. Sir William Temple gives specious reasons for 
the existence of this barbarous and disgusting practice: Drs. Henry, 
Mac Pherson, and others, have taken much pains to vindicate our an- 
cestors from an imputation so injurious and so incredible. That such a 
custom did exist, is extremely doubtful; but under "Marriage" the 
subject will be resumed and more fully investigated. 

Tacitus does not countenance the reproach of Cajsar, and the charge 
of immorality brought against the inhabitants of the continent has been 
repelled by Gibbon, with forcible arguments. The Celts allowed their 
wives to assist in councils and in settling controversies with their allies, 
submitting, with suitable deference, to their just decisions. 

**Diod. Fragm. xxvi. p. 65. t See Millar's Distinction of Ranks. 



FINES EXIGIBLE ON MARRIAGE 149 

The influence of the sex, and the high respect in which they were 
held, are acknowledged proofs of polished manners, and are most re- 
markable in the age of chivalry. This age continued among the Gael 
while their primitive institutions remained entire. There is no country 
in Europe, where women are more esteemed than in the Highlands of 
Scotland: " an unfaithful, unkind, or even careless husband is there 
looked upon as a monster."* 

The Celts are said to have had power of life and death over their wives 
and children; and when a husband, in a respectable family, died, his rela- 
tions held an inquest, and strictly interrogated the widow. If she were 
found guilty of having been accessory to his death, she was executed 
with fire and torments."}" 

The Germans cut off the hair of an adulteress, and, in the presence 
of her kindred, expelled her naked, pursuing her, with stripes, through 
the village; for no pardon was ever granted to a woman who had prosti- 
tuted herself "However beautiful she be," says Tacitus, "however 
young, however abounding in wealth, a husband she can never find.' 

By the Welsh laws, a man was not allowed to beat his wife, but for 
three causes: for wishing disgrace to his beard, attempting to murder 
him, and for adultery. 

The barbarity of the Scots has been inferred from the existence of the 
merched mulierum, a custom that has been understood to mean the right 
of the lord to the first night of a newly married vassal's wife. Much 
has been written on this abstruse term, J and many etymologies have been 
given in proof of the revolting custom. Its import is clearly the fine 
that was paid for liberty to marry ; which was exacted in Scotland within 
these 200 years. A superior could demand a sum, as marriage right, 
from a male as well as female heir,§ and women were entitled to receive 
it. The merched for an earl's daughter was twelve cows, the queen 
having the perquisites, and for a thane's, one cow. Boece says it was a 
silver mark; Buchannan the half of one. 

It is scarcely possible for us to conceive that a custom so repugnant to 
the natural feelings of mankind, could exist in any society at all remov- 
ed from the lowest barbarity. Marriage altered the state of the parties, 
and their relation to the chief. Neither widow nor single person was 
permitted to marry without consent of her superior, and the highest of 
the nobles were not exempted from the fine. 

The Scots are characterized as very litigious, contending strenuously 
for what they consider a right, although it may be of no advantage; — 
like a substantial farmer, well known in Edinburgh, who utterly ruined 
himself in prosecuting his claim to the site of a dunghill; but they ap- 

* Jamieson's Notes on Birt's Letters, ii. p. 46. t Caesar, vi. 17. 

t See an Essay by Lord Hailes. Whittaker's Hist, of Manchester, an excellent pa- 
per, by Mr. Anderson, W. S. in the Trans, of Scot's Ant. &c. 
§ Letter from a Gentleman in Scotland, 1746. 



150 



FINES EXIGIBLE ON MARRIAGE. 



pear formerly to have adopted a summary mode of settling disputes. Sir 
Anthony Weldon thought, in the time of King James, that "their 
swords were their judges, by reason whereof they had but few lawyers, 
and those not very rich." 





CHAPTER VI. 

ON THE DRESS OF THE ANCIENT CELTS, AND COSTUME OF 
THE PRESENT GAEL. 

Savages in most countries have been found to paint their naked bodies,, 
both for ornament, and with a view to inspire their enemies with terror. 
Before they have learned to cover their persons with any material, this 
may be considered their dress; but long after they have adopted partial 
clothing they continue, from attachment to ancient custom, and for the 
purpose of distinction, to stain, with particular colors and symbols, those 
parts of the body that remain uncovered. 

Allied to the custom of painting, for the purpose of rendering them- 
selves terrible to their enemies, is the barbarous practice of besmearing 
the face with the blood of those who were slain. The Irish, we learn 
from Solinus, were accustomed to augment their fierceness of visage by 
this method, and, according to Spenser, the custom had not been entire- 
ly dropped in his time. The idea of filling an enemy with dread by 
personal appearance, is not a bad conception; for, as Tacitus remarks, 
on the savage figure of the Germans, the eyes of men are first overcome 
in battle. It was for the purpose of intimidation that the ancient nations 
stained their bodies, cherished their hair, carried strange crests or hel- 
mets, and wore peculiar apparel; and from this practice has probably 
originated the military costumes of the present day. The British tribes 
were remarkable for the practice of painting their bodies; but it is not 
a little singular that no positive authority appears for this mode of dec- 



152 MANNER OF PAINTING THE BODY. 

oration among the Gauls of the continent. Except a fragment of a 
statue, supposed to be a Gallic Mercury, discovered at Framont, that 
prolific field for antiquarian research, and here represented, I have not 
met with any sculpture to indicate the prevalence of this custom.* 




Pelloutier thinks that Tacitus alludes to the practice among the Iberi- 
ans;! he plainly describes the Arrians of Germany as tincta corpora. 
The Budini, a Getic people, painted their bodies blue and red; J and 
Virgil describes all the Geloni, or Gette, as picti.§ The Daci and Sar- 
matge delineated various characters or figures on their bodies, and the 
women stained their faces with the juice of various herbs. [j The Thra- 
cians also, especially the ladies, painted their skins. IT The Agathyrsi, 
a Scythic nation, who are placed in Scandinavia by Jornandes, and on 
the SinuS Codanus by Rudbeck, painted their bodies with blue marks, 
the nobles being distinguished by a great number of these spots or fig- 
ures.** 

Plmy tells us, the glastum, with which the Britons dyed their bodies, 
was found in Gaul, but does not say the inhabitants made a similar use 
of it. The inference is that they did, but we have no express authority 
for the supposition; from which Dr. Mac Pherson thought, that as the 
painting could not have been derived from Gaul, it originated among the 
Caledonians. The Picts, by popular tradition, took their name from this 
practice ; and their chronicle and Isodore agree in saying, that the Scoti 
became Picti from this circumstance. 

All the Britons, CjEsar says, painted with woad, and described various 
figures on their bodies. These consisted of the sun, moon, and other 
planets, animals, &.c. The women dyed their whole bodies with this 
vegetable, the married and young equally, and they appeared so orna- 
mented at sacrifices and other solemnities quite naked. t| Claudian 
seems to describe Britannia as painted in the cheeks. 

The stains were impressed in youth; for it was a sort of tattooing, 
similar to what is performed on the Indians, and for this purpose certain 
iron instruments were used. The Geloni marked themselves with tools 
of this metal, JJ and it was by a similar process that the Picts and other 
inhabitants of Britain stained or tinctured their bodies. §§ The British 

* Montfaucon's Antiquities expliques. t ii. 7. p. 129. ed. 1770. 

t Herodotus, iv. § Georgics, ii. 115. 

II Pliny, xxii. 1. H Dio Chrysostom. 

** Amm. Mar. xxxi. Solinus, c. 15. Virgil. tt Pliny, xxii. 1. 

tt Virgil. §§ Claudian de Bello Getica 



FIRST ARTICLES OF DRESS. 153 

youth, says Solinus, were "marked with the figures of different animals 
by nice incisions, and there was nothing which they bore with more for- 
titude than the operation, by which their hmbs received a deep coloring 
in durable scars." Isodore says, the bodies of the Picts were punctured 
with a sharp instrument, and his expression " stigmata Britonum " seems 
to imply a deeper incision than other nations made.* 

The marks produced by this operation generally appear blue, when 
the matter applied is not exactly of that color, as may be observed on 
the hands and arms of seamen and others, from which it may be con- 
cluded that the ancient Britons did not confine themselves to the use of 
woad. Isodore, who describes the Goths as using red, says, the Picts 
colored themselves with the juice of green grass ;■!■ and Ovid terms the 
Britons " Virides." Martial calls them blue, and the expression "cceru- 
leas scuta Brigantes,"J is applied to the personal appearance of that na- 
tion. Herodian seems to represent the Britons as painted with various 
colors, " notant corpora pictura varia et omnifariam formis animalium,"^ 
which is translated by several authors as meaning paintings of different 
colors, and is applied to the Caledonians. Maule says, that Argento- 
coxus, or rather Argachocoxus, a celebrated chief of the Caledonian 
Picts, derived his name from the ancient word Coch, or Goch, red, and 
that therefore he was of the red clan, as others might be of Clan-buy, 
the yellow tribe, &c. The conjecture is ingenious, if not satisfactory. 

This practice of staining the body was retained by the Angli, to so 
low a period as the Norman conquest. They are even described by 
William of Malmsbury, as having their skins marked with figures. |1 The 
custom had before his time been very prevalent, but the attention of the 
clergy was at last called to this relick of paganism; and the council of 
Cealhythe, in 787, denounces those who used such ornaments, as moved 
" diabolico instinctu," the body which was created fair and comely, be- 
ing colored with dirty stains, unprofitable to salvation. 

Mankind did not at first clothe themselves for the sake of decency. 
Dress is assumed more from pride and ostentation among savages, and 
is rendered subservient to their protection in war, rather than adopted 
as a defence from the severities of climate. The Greeks and Romans 
thought it no indelicacy, to appear naked in public. Larcher on Hero- 
dotus states a remark of Plato, that the Greeks had not long considered 
it ridiculous and disgraceful for a man to appear in a state of nudity. 

In dress, as before observed, the chief object was to impress the enemy 
with dismay, by producing a strange and terrific appearance: a second, 
and not less strong feeling in decorating the person, was vanity. Pride 
of dress is found to influence the lowest savages, who are, according to 
their circumstances, as ostentatious in this respect, as the most civilized 
society. 

* Origines, xix. 23. Pliny says, some Eastern nations marked their bodies with bot 
searing irons. t Ap. Maule's History of the Picts. 

t Seneca de Claudio. ^ § Hist. iii. 

II De G. R. A. L. 3, "picturatis stigmatibus cutem insigniti." 



154 SKINS OF ANIMALS. 

No race were more proud of their apparel and personal decorations, 
than the ancient Celtse, and their taste in arraying themselves, with the 
singularity and splendor of their attire, struck their enemies with amaze- 
ment. The beauty and riches of the dress of the Gauls, at the battle 
of Telamon, was wonderful, for the whole army shone with purple silk 
and chains, and bracelets of gold, which they wore about their wrists 
and neck,* and the brilliancy of color in their sagas were the admiration 
of other nations, who were proud to make a humble imitation of the 
manufacture. 

The undressed skins of animals form the first covering of mankind, 
and they continue to be used until the art of fabricating more suitable 
materials is discovered, or until all have attained sufficient wealth to 
purchase them. The Greeks, more particularly the Arcadians, were 
clothed in skins, in the time of Aristodemus,"]" and the Ligurians contin- 
ued long to dress themselves in the hides of wild beasts, fastened around 
them, by means of a belt.J 

Tacitus says, the remote Germans wore the skins of animals, in some 
cases from necessity, inothers from choice, and some of them they 
diversified with numerous spots. ^ Caesar also describes the Suevi as 
arrayed in skins, and Virgil says the Getae made use of the same cover- 
ing. 

According to Dio, the Caledonians were naked: but, as Dr. Mac 
Pherson observes, we are not to believe they were entirely destitute of 
covering. Herodian represents them as being only partially clad; and 
with their scanty covering the expression naked was not inapplicable. || 
At the period of Caesar's descent, most of the inhabitants were clothed 
with the skins of animals, IT but woollen garments were also in use. A 
clothing of undressed skins is easily procured, and is the best substitute 
for other materials, in a poor country, where manufactures are but little 
known. The common people in Germany and Gaul continued to dress 
in this manner, long after their chiefs had adopted garments of linen and 
woollen cloth. At the commencement of the Christian era, the Belgic 
Britons, who were more civilized than the nations of the interior, were 
generally dressed in woollen garments; but the use of this manufacture 
was chiefly confined to the southern tribes, for it was only the principal 
persons in the interior who had begun to use it. We find, in the ancient 
Gaelic poems, the skin of a boar as the dress of a hero. The monks 
of lona, at a later period, dressed in skins, although they had linen also, 
which they imported, no doubt, from the main land; nay, " in the book 
of dresses, Paris 1562, from which facsimiles are published," the High- 
landers are said to be represented arrayed in sheep skins.** 

The ancient Britons had a sort of manufacture of the inner bark of 

* Polybius, ii. t Pausanias, iv. 11. t Diodorus. 
§ De mor. Germ. They also dressed in the skins of sea monsters. 

II Lib. iii. 47. IT Belle Gallico. 

• lietter on the Highland Dress. Scots' Mag. Nov. 1798, p. 743. 



MATTEN AND WOOLEN CLOTHES. 155 

trees, which still exists among the farmers in Germany, Sweden, Den- 
mark, &c. under the name of matten, who employ it for agricultural 
purposes. Mathan in Gaelic is a twig, or rush, from which come the 
English mat, matted, &c. 

The first woollen vestment which we find used by the Gauls and Ger- 
mans, was a square blanket thrown over the naked shoulders, and, from 
its value, worn only by the chiefs. This was called sagum, the same 
name which was given to the inartificial cloak which it had succeeded. 
Sac, in Gaelic, signifies a skin or hide. The Belgae called this part of 
their dress lene, or linne. Reno, which Varro says is Gallic, was a 
term applied to it by some Germans, while others denominated it mas- 
truga."* 

The manufacture of woollen cloth must have existed among the Celtae 
from the most early period. They were particularly ingenious in dying 
the material, and in its fabrication; and their perfection in the art be- 
speaks long use and experience, as well as much taste. The singularity 
of the Gaulish habit excited the astonishment of the Romans: but al- 
though they adopted the use of the warm cloth which the Belgfe manu- 
factured, it does not appear that they ever wore the showy pattern which 
the Celtae had the honor to invent. Other nations, admiring its gaudy 
appearance, were induced to relinquish their own dress and adopt it in- 
stead. The Franks were so pleased with the striped sagum that they 
assumed it in preference to their own habit. "f The Saxons, in like man- 
ner, imitated the curious workmanship of those ingenious people, and 
carried it to great perfection. The place where they worked was called 
"the Tuphus of wouUe," and women attended to the manufacture. J 
The spinners and weavers in Germany worked under ground, in caves. ^ 

There were diflferent qualities of Celtic wool. That of Lusitania and 
of Narbonne was rough and coarse; in Piemont it was chiefly gray; in 
Celtiberia it was mostly black; and in Andalusia and Grenada it was 
reddish. II 

The Gauls appear to have made a sort of felt without weaving, the 
cuttings of which were formed into mattrasses. Perhaps Strabo alludes 
to this article when he says the sagum was rough outside. When vine- 
gar was used in the preparation of this, it resisted the blow of a sword, 
and was even some defence against fire.|| 

They shore the wool close, says Diodorus, and called their thick cas- 
socks, coenas. They also wore the sagum thicker than usual in winter. 
The Celtic weavers were, certainly, most ingenious artists, and produced 
work that astonished other nations, by its richness and singularity. 

The description of it has been supposed to imply that the figures of 
flowers were represented in the texture of the cloth, but this nice and 

* Cluverius Germ. Ant. " Saga vulgo Sayon a quo milites nostros Savatos appella- 
mus." Pol Virgil de Invent, rerum, 1604. 

t Favin, also an author in Baluzii capitularia, ii. 741, quoted by Whittaker. 
J Fosbrooke, in MSS § Pliny. |1 Pliny, viii. 48. 



156 ORIGIN OF TARTAN 

difficult operation in the art is not likely to have been known in those 
rude ages. It was much easier to fall on the way of using alternate 
colors, both in warp and woof, and thereby produce that appearance 
which, at a distance, to those unacquainted with its nature, might readi- 
ly be taken for flowering. Diodorus had no name for this manufacture, 
which was peculiar to the Celts, and only means to say, as I apprehend, 
that it resembled a flowered robe; for he goes on to describe it as form- 
ed in distinct striped squares.* This opinion seems confirmed by what 
Pliny says of the Lusitanian manufacture, that the mesh-work of the 
homespun garment gave it value. The " scutulato textu " has been 
taken for round figures, or lozenge-figured damask. The following note 
on the passage is more just: " textus virgatus est macularum instar can- 
cellatim et reticulatim distinctus Lausagias Galli vocant."J 

If we could give credit to the few dark intimations concerning the 
Hyperborei of Britain, a proof that the manufacture, which is plainly 
Tartan, existed in this country, at a period long prior to the commence- 
ment of our credible history, would be found; for Abaris, the high priest 
of that people, wore a robe which corresponds, from the description, 
exactly to the Scots' plaid. 

It may be presumed, without insisting on an authority so doubtful, 
the Gallic colonists brought with them their national artificers and man- 
ufactures; as cloth does not appear to have been an article of import 
with the Britons, among whom its use was common, at the era of the 
Roman descent. 

The Belgae are believed to have introduced the use of woollen vest- 
ments, an opinion which is founded on their being more generally worn 
by those tribes than the less polished inhabitants of the interior. The 
skins of animals, as they were more easily procured, appear to have 
formed the dress of the common people throughout the island, but the 
manufacture of woollen cloth was well understood at an early period. 

Bondiuca wore a tunic, interwoven with various colors, over which 
was a mantle of a coarser texture, being, the dress which she wore at all 
times. J Varro says the Britons wore a garment called Guanacum, 
which was of divers colors, woven together and making a gaudy show;§ 
and Tacitus says the ^stii, a German nation, wore the British dress, 
which must have been the Gallic. 

The Saxons continued the manufacture, which Aldhelra, who was 
Bishop of Sherborn about 970, describes in a pleasing manner. Writing 
in praise of virginity, he says, " it is not the web of one uniform color 
and texture, without any variety of figures, that pleases the eye and 
appears beautiful, but one that is woven by shuttles, filled with threads 

* " Ac seu floribus conspersas." »«*»*" gaga etiam virgata, crebrisque 
tesselis florum instar distincta." Pliny says, " Scutulis vestes dividere instituit Gal- 
lia ; " while he elsewhere describes the Parthians as weaving letters or characters in 
their cloth. Lib. xiii. ii. t Comment, ad Pliny, in ed. Lugd. IGGS. 

t Dio. § Ap. Strutt's Chronicles, p. 275. 



ORIGIN OF TARTAN. 157, 

of purple and various other colors, flying from side to side, and forming 
a variety of figures and images in different compartments, Avith admira- 
ble art."* The Saxons, not having a sufficiently Celtic taste, appear 
to have given up this manufacture. 

Cloth, in the most simple composition, is left of the natural wool, 
without being colored by any artificial process. Hence the Celtiberians, 
in general, wore black sagas,! the wool being of that color. Giraldus 
Cambrensis says most of the Irish were clad in black, for the same rea- 
son; and the Loughtan cloth of the Isle of Man is made from the natural 
wool of a particular breed of sheep, some of which are said still to exist 
in St. Kilda and other remote islands. The color is yellowish, or that of 
an unblanched bitter almond, and the inhabitants are very partial to it.J 

Throughout Scotland, more particularly in the North Highlands, the 
cloth was made of the undyed wool, the white and black being generally 
appropriated for blankets, or plaids, and for the upper garments, the gray 
for hose and mits for the gudeman. The Hodden gray was the general 
attire among the farmers, as it still, in most parts of the interior and in 
Ireland, continues to be. Sheep shearing was, perhaps, unknown to 
the primitive tribes. The Shetlanders still continue to tear off the wool; 
a practice less cruel than at first appears, for it is not done until after 
the roots have been forced out by the young fleece; but it is very inju- 
dicious, for much is naturally cast, and, consequently, lost. 

It would appear that, in ancient times, the Irish had garments formed 
of hair. A coat of unknown texture was dug from a bog at a depth of 
fifteen feet; and in another place, eleven feet under the surface of the 
earth, a body was found clothed in a garment of hair. From the singu- 
larity of its appearance, the supposition was, that it had been fabricated 
from that of the Moosedeer.^ We find that the Irish, in later periods 
than those to which the above discoveries are referable, wore " girdles 
of women's hair and locks of their lovers ;"|1 nurses and children being 
girt with belts of female hair, finely plaited. These were rather orna- 
mental than necessary apparel, but we find Fin Mac Coul was arrayed 
in " hieland pladdis of hair. "IT 

Wool is the material which the Celtge must have manufactured, from 
the most remote ages, and the texture of the web must have varied ac- 
cording to the abilities of the workmen, or affluence of the parties. In 
1786, there was found among other articles, at a depth of seventeen feet, 
in a bog in Ireland, a coat in shape like a spencer or jacket, of a coarse 
woollen net-work. 

* Strutt, ut sup. t Diodorus. 

t Histories of the Isle of Man, Stat. Account, Agric. Rep. &c. Tlie manx word 
Loshhyn, signifies burnt, or singed. Lachdan, in Gaiilic, is gray. " A Lauchtane 
mantle then him by." Tlie Bruce. § Archaeologia, vii. 

II Gainsford's Glory of England, IG19. 

IT Interlude of the Droichis, noticed in Sir John Sinclair's Diss, on Ossian's Poems, 
p. xxvii. 



158 LUATHADH, OR FULLING OF CLOTH. 

The Highlanders sometimes made their plaids very fine, but, for gen 
eral wear, they bestowed less pains.* The cathdath, or cadas, was a 
thick sort, made for the men, and intended, as its name, battle color, 
implies, to be worn during war. Of this milled cloth, hose, trews, jacket 
and waistcoat were usually made, but the plaid and feilebeag were always 
of common tartan. Clodh was used for coats, and was commonly what 
is called hodden gray in the Lowlands, and lachdan by the Highlanders 
Cuirtan was similar to a common Scot's blanket, but of finer wool and 
fairer workmanship. 

The luathadh, or process of fulling or cleansing cloth, in the High 
lands, is conducted in a singular manner. Six or eight, sometimes even 
fourteen, females, sit down on each side of a long frame of wattled work, 
or a board ribbed longitudinally for the purpose, and placed on the 
ground. The cloth being wet, is then laid on it, and the women, kneel- 
ing, rub it with all their strengtli, until their arms become tired, when 
they sit down and applying their bare feet, commence the waulking in 
good earnest, singing a particular melody, the notes of which increase 
in loudness, as the work proceeds. The following account of the man- 
ner of preparing the plaids, and the expense attending the manufacture, 
about the middle of the last century, is given in the Agricultural Report 
of Caithness. When the web was sent home, it was washed in warm 
water, and, if it was necessary to full it, the door was taken off its hinges 
and laid on the floor, the web being then taken out of the water and laid 
on it. Four women, with bare legs, having set down on a little straw, 
at equal distances on each side, on the signal of a song, (similar to the 
Ran de Vache, in Switzerland,) each applied the soles of her feet to 
the web, and began pushing and tumbling it about, until it was suffi- 
ciently done, when it was stretched out to dry. Cloth, if good, and for 
sale, fetched Is. per yard, and tartan, if also good, and of fine colors, 
Is. or Is. 2d. That industry and simplicity of life, the reporter adds, 
are now gone. 

This mode of washing is the Luaghadh, described by Pennant, and of 
which he has given a print. It is related of an English gentleman, that 
having accidentally looked into a cottage where the females were so en- 
gaged, he hastily retired, reporting that he had seen a whole company 
of furious lunatics. 

Woollen must have been at first woven of one color, or an intermixture 
of natural black and white, so frequently seen in Scotland, in the present 
day. The process of dying increases the expense, and is not at all times 
practicable. Buchannan says the prevailing color in his time was brown; 
most likely that above alluded to. Blue was the favorite color of the 
painted Britons, from which Britannia was represented arrayed in a blue 
garment. 

Pinkerton and several other writers of less note, have affected to 
believe, that tartan was a recent invention. Its antiquity among the 

* Martin. Gen. Stewart. 



TARTAN NOT A RECENT INVENTION. 159 

Celtae is already proved, and if it was a manufacture of the ancient Brit 
ons, there appears no reason to believe that it was ever lost by their de- 
scendants. Lesly and Buchannan mention it, as worn by the Highland- 
ers; and an old chronicle says, the inhabitants of the Western Isles 
delighted "to wear marled cloaths, specially that have long stripes of 
sundry colours. Their predecessors used short mantles, or plaids of di- 
vers colours, sundry ways divided; and amongst some the same custom is 
observed to this day, but for the most part now they are broun, most 
near to the color of the hadder, to the effect when they lie among the 
hadder, the bright colours of their plaids shall not bewray them."* 

" In Argyle and the Hebudse, before the middle of the fifteenth cen- 
tury, tartan was manufactured of one or two colors for the poor; more 
varied for the rich."! Beague describes the Gael nearly 300 years ago 
as having a woollen covering, variously colored. In the charge and 
discharge of John, Bishop of Glasgow, treasurer to King James III., 
1471, are the following items: 

" Ane elne and ane halve of blue Tartane to lyne his gowne of cloth of gold. £1 10s. 
Four elne and ane halve of Tartane, for a sparwort aboun his credill, price 

ane elne 10s 2 5 

Halve ane elne of doble Tartane to lyne ridin collars to her lady the Quene, 

price 8 shillins. 

There is a portrait of Sir William Wallace at Taymouth, a seat of 
Lord Braidalban, where the patriot is represented with a plaid of tartan 
fastened on his breast by a large brooch. The authenticity of this picture 
may be questioned, but it is possible for a rude painting to have been pre- 
served by a copy, as was done with that of William the Lion in the hall 
Df the incorporated trades of Aberdeen, which is known to have been 
repainted from a very old and decayed portrait, upwards of one hun- 
dred years ago. If this, however, were not the case with the one in 
question, it is yet of greater antiquity than the period assigned by many 
for the introduction of the manufacture. It must have been handed 
down from the ancient tribes, but, from change of circumstances, the 
patterns were made less rich. The name breacan, which the Highland- 
ers give to their upper garment, derived from breae, chequered, is a 
strong proof of its antiquity. 

Achy Edgathach, an Irish legislator, is said to have introduced the 
Laws of colors to that people, which are represented as having done 
more towards procuring esteem and respect than all the trappings of 
eastern magnificence. J The number of colors among them and the 
Caledonians, indicated the rank of the wearer, a king or chief having 
seven, a Druid six, and other nobles four in their robes. In later times, 
those who could afford to do so, may have indulged their taste by intro- 
ducing a variety of rich colors; the poor were obliged to make their cloth 
plain. Green and black, with an occasional stripe of red, seem to have 

* Lord Somers' Tracts, vol. xiii. t Heron's Hist, of Scotland, v. p. 28. 

t Dissertations on the Ancient History of Ireland, 1753, p. 124. 



160 VARIOUS DYES. 

predominated; but some districts have been distinguished for their pe- 
culiar taste, as Badenoch, where red tartan was prevalent, and Locha- 
ber, where the patterns were remarkably gaudy, &c. 

The Highlanders had neither cochineal, lac dye, foreign woods, nor 
other excellent substances to impart various tints to their Breacan; but 
their native hills afforded articles with which they had found the art of 
dying brilliant, permanent, and pleasing colors. Caledonia was indeed 
much less prolific in the materials for this purpose than Gaul, where the 
people arrived at high perfection in the art. With the use of herbs only 
in the process of dying, they produced colors so beautiful as to excite the 
admiration of the polished Greeks and Romans. They had a dye which 
rivalled the Tyrian purple. The hyacinth is said to have afforded this 
beautiful tint; but the vaccinium, supposed by some commentators to 
have been a certain herb, and by others taken for the whortle, scotice, 
blaeberry, is particularly mentioned by Pliny, as having been employed 
by the Gauls to produce this color,* the hyacinth, which, he says, pros- 
pered exceedingly in Gaul, being used to dye red.^ These people also 
produced scarlet, violet, and all sorts of beautiful colors, from various 
plants. The first was extracted from the grain of a bramble which they 
called us, and the Greeks denominated coccos.J In Lusitania the 
royal scarlet was produced.^ 

The Gauls, says Pliny, were wiser than others, for they did not en- 
danger their lives, and ransack foreign countries and seas for articles to 
dye their stuffs, to please a licentious populace, but, "with excellent 
thrift and good husbandrie, they stood safe upon the drie land, and gath- 
ered those herbs to dye such colours as an honest minded person hath no 
cause to blame, nor the world reason to cry out upon."|| 

The British Gael were, perhaps, unable to give those rich colors to 
their stuffs which appeared in the manufactures of the ancient Celtic 
tribes of the continent. They had various articles which they employed 
successfully in dying their garments; but when engaged in war, they 
preferred a dark pattern. Bark of aller, or alder, was used for black, 
that of willow produced flesh color. Corkir, or crotil geal, a substance 
formed on stone, was made use of by the West Islanders to dye "a 
pretty crimson color," and another similar substance called crotil dubh, 
"of a dark color, only dyes a philamot," which is, however, very per- 
manent. There is a root called rue, once much used for red, but now 
strictly prohibited from being taken up, as the sand is loosened, and 
thereby becomes liable to overspread the land. IT Other vegetable sub- 
stances were employed by the Highlanders, who were able to produce 
finer colors than is generally supposed. The Caledonian women, who 
" wove the robe for their love," made it " like the bow of the shower." 
General Stewart mentions having seen specimens of very old tartan that 

* Pliny, xvi. c. 18. t Ibid. xxi. 26. t Pausanias, x. 36. Pliny. 

§ Pliny, xxii. |1 Ibid. xxii. Holland's Transl. 1601. p. 115. 

II Buchannan's History of the Western Islands. 



CLAN TARTANS. 161 

retained the tints in their original brilliancy ; and a gentleman assured 
me that he had seen a garment upwards of ilOO years old, the colors in 
which were still admirable. The materials for dying were procured 
among their native hills, and, like the Gauls, they did not seek for arti- 
cles produced in other countries. A Mr. Gordon, of Kirk Michael, 
Banffshire, about 1755, introduced to notice the simple process by which 
an elegant purple can be obtained from the crotil, cupmoss, or lichen, to 
which he gave the name cudbear, either from cuid a bear, the best part, 
or in allusion to his own name, Cuthbert. In the Scots' Magazine 
of 1776, he published a certificate from several dyers, that they used 
it with much success. It became consequently an article of trade, and 
in 1808 and 1809, from 4 to £500 worth was gathered off the rocks in 
the counties of Aberdeen and Banff;* but Mr. Gordon did not arrive 
at so much perfection in fixing the color as many of his own country- 
women. 

" Give me bullock's blood and lime," said a Highlander to a friend 
of mine, " and I will produce you fine colors." Every farmer's good- 
wife was competent to dye blue, red, green, yellow, black, brown, and 
their compounds. When we consider the care with which the High- 
landers arranged and preserved the patterns of their different tartans, 
and the pride which they had in this manufacture, we must believe that 
the dyers spared no pains to preserve and improve the excellence of their 
craft. 

"There is a great deal of ingenuity required in sorting the colors, so 
as to be agreeable to the nicest fancy. For this reason the women are 
at much pains, first to give an exact pattern of the plaid upon a small 
rod, having the number of every thread of the stripe on it.""]" The far- 
mer's wife generally dyed her own wool, although there might be some 
small dye works in the neighborhood; but whether she colored the 
materials or employed others, the pattern of the web was not left to the 
weaver's fancy. He received his instructions by means of a small stick, 
round which the exact number of threads in every bar was shown, a 
practice in use to this very day. Sir Benjamin West regarded the clan 
tartans as specimens of national taste, and says that there was great art 
displayed in the composition of the various patterns, and in the combina- 
tion and opposition of colors. 

The particular setts, or patterns, of tartan, appropriate to each clan, 
must have been long fixed. Every tribe and every island differed from 
each other " in the fancy of making plaids, as to the stripes, in breadth 
and colors." J The breacan of the Highlander was a sort of coat armor, 
or tabard, by which his name and clan were at once recognised'. At the 
same time, in their undress they indulged their taste in fancy patterns. 
It was a valuable reward for good conduct in youth, to bestow a plaid, 
in which various colors were introduced, and it appears to have been 

* Agric. Rep. for Banffshire. t Martin. t Ibid. p. 208. 

21 



162 ' CLAN TARTANS. 

prized by those of more advanced years. An old song makes a Celt, in 
wooing a Lowland lass, say: 

" Bra' sail the setts o' your braid tartans be, 

If ye will gang to the north Highlands wi' me." 

Tartans may be divided into the general descriptions of green and 
red, where these colors predominate. In the five regiments who still 
wear the kilt, it is the former. That of the 42nd is the plainest and most 
common pattern, and is often called the black watch, from the old name 
of the corps, who were so denominated from wearing tartan only, the 
red jacket being a late alteration. The regular colors are blue, black 
and green, but a red stripe in the middle of the former is often intro- 
duced. This is said to have been first added by Lord Murray, who 
commanded the regiment, as the Athol sett, and to distinguish the 
Feilebeag, then introduced from the old Breacan feile.* It appeared to 
me very ununiform in this regiment, that both patterns should be worn 
indifferently. The band continue to wear tartan of the same red pattern 
which formed the original dress of the pipers and drummers. 

The 78th, or Ross-shire Highlanders, wear the Mac Kenzie tartan, 
having been raised from that clan. 

The 79th, or Cameron Highlanders, wear their appropriate and well 
composed tartan. 

The 92nd, or Gordon Highlanders, also wear their peculiar sett, 
which is very pleasing, and the 93rd wear the Sutherland tartan, which 
appears only different from the plain sett of the 42nd in having the green 
and blue lighter, the former being shown in the kilt and plaid. 

The 71st regiment, or Mac Kenzie Highland light infantry, when 
first raised, wore their own clan plaid; the 72nd, or Seaforth Highland- 
ers, being also a Mac Kenzie regiment, wore the same tartan and cos- 
tume; but the late Duke of York taking a fancy to this corps after their 
return from the Cape of Good Hope, called them " the Duke of Albany's 
own Highlanders," and gave them a scarf plaid and trowsers of the royal 
tartan. It is extraordinary that those two regiments, the oldest embodied 
clan corps, should wear trowsers, a dress formerly confined to lame, 
sick, or aged Highlanders! It has been a source of great vexation to 
their clan and country. Assuredly, Lord Mac Leod, the eldest son of 
Mac Kenzie, Earl of Cromarty, who raised the 73rd, now the 71st, and 
Mac Kenzie, Earl of Seaforth, who embodied the old 78th, now the 
72nd, would never have thought of an alteration so unnecessary and so 
uncongenial to Celtic feeling. Whoever has the high honor to command 
the British army, should not forget how strongly the high minded and 
brave Gael are attached to their national costume; and as these regi- 
ments have still the name of Highlanders, and are composed of them, it 
is to be hoped, their appropriate military uniform will be yet restored. 

While on this subject, I cannot avoid noticing an unaccountable prac- 
tice in some Highland regiments, where the officers seldom appear in 

* Stewart's Sketches of the Highlanders. 



CLAN TARTANS. 163 

the feilebeag, except on field days and particular occasions' Is it from 
an idea that it is unbecoming, or that the privates only are obliged to 
wear the kilt? It is a strange inconsistency, and a very unmilitary 
custom, for which I presume the respective colonels or adjutants are 
answerable. Having some time since lived four or five years where the 
78th were stationed, I must exonerate that corps from the above reflec- 
tions, officers and men being always dressed in proper regimentals. 

His Majesty, and all the branches of the Royal Family, wear the 
royal plaid of the High Steward of Scotland, as shown in the figure of 
the chief of the clan, and described in the table of tartans. His Royal 
Highness the Duke of Sussex has a pattern, peculiar to himself, which 
is represented in the explanatory plate. It is worn for Inverness, from 
which he has the title of Earl. All regular tartans are made, so that, in 
the folds of the kilt and plaid, which are formed in what is called quilled, 
or box plaiting, a particular stripe shall appear. Thus, in the Gordon 
sett, it is yellow, in the Mac Kenzie white. Sec, and wherever one of 
these patterns cannot be formed in this way, the web is irregular; and ■ 
an error in weaving would equally derange the operation of making up 
a jacket, which consumes a considerable quantity of cloth, being cut on 
the bias, and is a work of great nicety and skill. 

The table given in the Appendix will show the exact pattern of the 
tartans appropriate to the respective clans. It is as correct as the most 
laborious personal investigations, and the able assistance of some valued 
friends, conversant on the subject, could make it: still there are many 
clans, especially in the Lowlands, who have peculiar tartans, that are 
not included in the table. 

The Highland Society, some years since, undertook the laudable task 
of collecting specimens of the various distinguishing tartans of the Scot- 
ish Celts, and succeeded in procuring a great many specimens. When 
we consider the severe laws that were passed, to restrain the Highland- 
ers from wearing cloth of this manufacture, and the long period in which 
they were rigorously enforced, with the act which at once abolished the 
system of clanship, that venerable monument of the policy of our ances- 
tors, and gave a deadly blow to the cherished institutions of the Gael, 
we must cease to wonder that so much is lost of their ancient manners, 
and feel rather surprised that so much has survived "the abolition of 
heritable jurisdictions." 

It will be seen that no Family tartans are introduced in the list. The 
investigations of the Highland Society, the stimulus given by the visit 
of our Gracious Monarch to Scotland, where the great chiefs brought 
their followers to attend him, and where the Celtic Society, dressed in 
proper costume, formed his Majesty's body guard, with other circum- 
stances which rendered it necessary for individuals to appear in their 
peculiar uniforms, have combined to excite much curiosity among all 
classes, to ascertain the particular tartans and badges they were entitled 
to wear. This creditable feeling unfortunately led to a result different 



164 TASTEFUL ARRANGEMENT OF COLORS. 

from what might have been expected: fanciful varieties of tartan and 
badges were passed off as genuine, and the attempt to set the public 
right on these matters is likely to meet the objections of many. I am, 
however, confident, from the respectability of my sources of information, 
that my statements are the most correct of any hitherto published. In 
laying them before the public, I claim for myself an acquittal from all 
prejudice and partiality. 

It is obvious that family tartans must be, in a great measure, depend- 
ant on individual taste; for, although many are, no doubt, of ancient 
origin, they were not distinctive of tribes. Several, also, have of late 
adopted particular tartans, while spurious patterns have been imposed 
on others, as appropriate to their name. The difficulty of compiling a 
correct list must be allowed, and without giving all the varieties, it 
would be unsatisfactory and incomplete. As the author is preparing a 
work expressly, on tartans and badges, with illustrative plates, an object, 
for the above reasons, so very desirable, he takes this opportunity of so- 
liciting information or patterns from those noblemen and gentlemen who 
may feel interested in the subject. 

The utility of these lists is apparent. Any one desirous of possessing 
the tartan of his clan, may, by inspecting the table, inform himself of the 
exact pattern, and with this knowledge he cannot be deceived in making 
a purchase. The advantage of these accurate descriptions to the manu- 
facturer and dealer is obvious. They will, by this guide, be able to 
provide the true sett of any clan tartan. 

The word tartan is derived from the Gaelic tarstin, or tarsuin, across. 
A friend has suggested an ingenious etymology of cath-dath, before 
translated "war color:" it may very aptly signify the " strife of colors," 
as if they emulated each other in brilliancy. The French tyretaine, a 
sort of woollen cloth, is certainly of Gallic origin. John de Meum, the 
continuator of the Romance of the Rose, mentions scarlet woollen cloth 
of tyretaine, as forming part of women's dress. 

This manufacture appears to be unknown in France. A gentleman 
who has travelled on the continent in all directions, for some years past, 
declares he never met with it of native fabrication. In a letter which I 
lately received, he thus writes; " It is a certain fact that tartan is not 
manufactured any where, not even in England, I believe, as it should 
be. A French dealer in such goods assured me that, in France, they 
had never succeeded." 

Stirling, in Scotland, has been long celebrated for its manufacture of 
this cloth, and a very fine web, especially of scarlet, which the High- 
landers could not produce from their native dye-stuffs, was known as 
"Stirling Tartan." An old weaver at the village of Bannockburn, in 
the vicinity, has, from his intimate acquaintance with the various pat- 
terns, been dubbed "the Lord Lyon, of Tartan heraldry." 

It has been predicted, that " the tasteless regularity and vulgar glare" 
of this manufacture would forever prevent its adoption by genteel society 



COSTUME. 165 

flow changed the feeling of the present age must be, when it is not only 
so fashionable in the British islands, but popular throughout the civilized 
world. A certain writer denounced it as "most offensive to the eye.' 
Sir Benjamin West, whose opinion is likely to be much more correct, 
expressed his admiration of the fine effect of the combination of colors. 

It is scarcely possible to illustrate the costume of the ancient Celtaj 
satisfactorily, without a series of figures, for their dresses seem to have 
varied. It is to be regretted, that no authentic monument, of sufficient 
antiquity, exists, from which we can ascertain, with certainty, the cos- 
tume of that people. The Greeks had some representations of them: a 
picture of the slaughter of the Gauls in Mysia, was to be seen in the 
tower of the Athenians; and the Pergamenians, who resisted them in 
one of their invasions, retained their spoils, and had pictures, i. e. sculp- 
tures or paintings of their transactions with them.* There were also 
figures of Gauls at Rome, but of a later period; and probably slaves 
were the models. They were not represented from respect, but shown 
in attitudes calculated to display their inferiority, and excite contempt. "f 

There are no monuments or statues of the Gauls, it is believed, in 
existence, of an age anterior to their subjugation by the Romans, a 
period too recent to illustrate their original costume. The bas-relief that 
forms the subject of the vignette to Chapter I. represents Gallic and 
German warriors, from the columns of Trajan and Antoninus. The one 
at the commencement of this Chapter represents a Celtiberian, from the 
shield of Scipio, and a Gallic female, from a bas-relief, discovered at 
Langres. 

Those remains that are with every probability attributed to the Celtic 
inhabitants, are apparently the figures of Gauls, much altered by the 
mfluence of their conquerors. 

The most simple dress was the Sagum, fastened in front, or on the 
shoulder, generally with a brooch ; or, when the wearer could find noth- 
ing better, a thorn, or bit of wood, answered the purpose. J Whittaker 
says the Britons fastened it on both shoulders. All the Germans wore 
this, and were naked where it did not reach. ^ It was also used by the 
Lusitani and Iberi, and continued very long to be a principal part of the 
dress of those nations. [j Favin, from the monk of St. Gall, describes 
the Franks as so pleased with the striped sagum of the Gauls, that they 
adopted it in preference to their own long mantle. 

The sagum, whether of simple skin or coarse woollen, was long worn 
before it was thought necessary to provide covering for other parts of the 
body; but the pride of dress, a strong passion among the Celts, and the 
occupations of war, so favorable to a display of personal decorations, 
soon lead to the adoption of more complicated attire. 

* Pausanias, i. 4. 

t Pliny, XXXV. 4, who relates an anecdote of Crassus, connected with one of those 
pictures in the Forum. t Tac. de Mor. Germ. 

§ Tac. ut sup. II Strabo. 



166 COSTUME. 

In later ages, the Gauls formed a hood to their sagum or cloak, and it 
was named Cucullus, or Bardo-cucullus, being worn by soldiers and 
countrymen. It was chiefly used among the Xantones, and is to this 
day retained by the peasants in some parts of France.* The Gauls im- 
parted their gaudy sagum to the Franks, and the Britons communicated 
theirs to the Saxons.t 

The Carac-challamh, according to Macpherson, was a sort of upper 
garment, which Pinkerton from Dio says was worn close. The surname 
Caracalla given to the Roman emperor, was derived from a sort of long 
Gallic gown, Gallica palla is used by Martial for a man's cassock. 
From the Gaelic term for along coat, the Highlanders call the people of 
the Low Country, luchd nan cosag. 

The military dress of the Celtae was adopted more from ostentation 
than as a means of defence, for they disregarded armor, and in battle 
were accustomed to strip off almost their whole attire. Diodorus says 
they despised death so much, that they fought with only a slight covering 
around the loins. At the battle of Cannae, when they fought in this 
manner, it could not fail to be " strange and terrible to see them naked 
from the waist." J It was the practice of the Asiatic Gauls also to fight 
naked. § 

The Irish, according to Solinus, continued the practice of divesting 
themselves of all covering in battle; and Spenser, who says the mantle 
was in general their sole garment, observes that it was light, and conve- 
nient to throw away. The Scots' Highlanders continued to throw off 
their jackets and plaids, until the beginning of the eighteenth century. 
Martin thus describes their method of fighting. "The chief of each 
tribe, after the arrows are spent, advances within shot, having first laid 
aside the upper garments and after one general discharge, attack, aut 
mors cito, aut victoria laeta." 

The Tunic was at first worn by those only who were very wealthy. 
It fitted close to the body, was fastened by a belt round the middle, and 
reached below the thighs. The Belgians had it slit, with sleeves hang- 
ing from the shoulders below the middle. Among the Britons it was 
called Cota, and was worn open before, with sleeves that, in men, 
reached to the hands, || and fell as low as the knee. The tunic of Bon- 
diuca was long and plaited. The Thracians, in Xerxes' army, wore a 
vest over a robe of various colors. IT The Scythians, from the sculpture 
on the arch of Theodosius, dressed in the same manner as the Germans 

Those among the Gauls who bore honors, according to Strabo, wore a 
vest adorned with gold and fine colors; one sort of which were called 
CcEnas,** 

A Gallic monument shows a figure dressed in a striped tunic, fastened 
with a belt, and descending to the knecj"! Some fragments dug up in 

* Montfaucon's Antiquite Expliquee. t Whittaker. | Polybius, iii. 

§ Livy, xxxviii. || Whittaker. II Herodotus, vii. 75. 

** In Gaelic, cneas is the waist. tt Schoepflin's Alsatia Illustrata. 



COSTUME. 167 

1711, in the choir of the cathedral of Paris, represented six Gauls, all 
armed, and dressed in long garments with wide sleeves, the sagum ap- 
pearing also in some. The legs do not in all cases appear to have been 
naked: sometimes they are seen covered with a sort of trowsers, even 
when the arms are bare. 

A figure found after the great fire of London, had the hair long and 
flowing, a sagum thrown over the shoulders, a girdle round the middle, 
and the legs bare.* 

A fragment of sculpture dug from the ruins of Antonine's wall, and 
now preserved at Croy, represents three figures, which are in all proba- 
bility meant for Caledonians. The dress is a strict resemblance to the 
national garb, and is similar to that of the ancient Celts. ■{■ 

Gildas describes the Scots and Picts of his time as having only a 
piece of cloth tied round the loins: and on the remarkable obelisk at 
Forres, in the county of Moray, the Scots are represented in a tunic, 
fastened round the waist. 

The Sa.xons wore the short tunic, which they derived from the Gauls, 
who had a rooted aversion to the long mantle. It was so convenient 
where agility was required, that it was worn by persons of every degree, 
and was the constant military habit. It usually terminated a little above 
the knee, and was sometimes open at each side. J Eginhart assures us, 
that Charlemagne wore the short tunic, strictly adhering to the ancient 
manners. It reached only to his knees; and Charles the Bold is repre- 
sented in an ancient 3IS. with two seigneurs, in the same dress, the legs 
bare from the knees, except the lacing of the sandals, which are brought 
to the middle of the calf, and a sagum fastened on the shoulder with a 
button. 

The Breacan-feile, literally the chequered covering, is the original 
garb of the Highlanders, and forms the chief part of the costume; the 
other articles, although equally Celtic, and now peculiar 'to Scotland, 
being subordinate to this singular remain of a most ancient dress. 

The Breacan, in its simple form, is now seldom used. It consisted of 
a plain piece of tartan, two yards in width by four or six in length. In 
dressing, this was carefully plaited in the middle, of a breadth suitable 
to the size of the wearer, and sufficient to extend from one side around 
his back to the other, leaving as much at each end as would cover the 
front of the body, overlapping each other. The plaid being thus pre- 
pared, was firmly bound round the loins with a leathern belt, in such 
manner that the lower side fell down to the middle of the knee joint, 
and then, while there were the foldings behind, the cloth was double 
before. The upper part was then fastened on the left shoulder with a 
large brooch or pin, so as to display to the most advantage the taste- 
fulness of the arrangement, the two ends being sometimes suffered 
to hang down; but that on the right side, which was necessarily the 

* Pennant. t Archeeologia, xxi. p. 456. 

i Strutt s Hist, of the English Dress. 



168 COSTUME. 

longest, was more usually tucked under the belt, as shown in the figure 
of the Gordon in the copper plate. In battle, in travelling, and on other 
occasions, this added much to the coramodiousness and grace of the 
costume. 

From this description, it will appear that the Highlander would re- 
quire some assistance at his toilet if he wished to dress with requisite 
precision, but it was generally sufficient to spread the breacan on a box, 
table, over a chair-back, or otherwise, and when abroad he spread it on 
a sloping bank or rock, and, having the belt under it, laying himself on 
his side, and, buckling his girdle, the object was accomplished. He 
was, however, so nice, that he took considerable pains to arrange the 
folds after it was put on. 

The cloth that composed this part of the dress was simply a plaid or 
piece of tartan. When disposed on the body as above described, it re- 
ceived, in the Low Country, the appropriate appellation of the belted 
plaid, to distinguish it from the more usual way in which it was worn by 
the inhabitants, who merely wrapped it over the left shoulder, having 
small clothes under it. 

The belted plaid was, however, by no means unknown as a dress in 
many parts accounted lowland by the natives of higher districts. It 
was peculiarly convenient for pastoral occupations, and was the common 
dress of the shepherds in the inland parts of Aberdeen, Banff, and other 
counties north of the Grampians, until towards the end of the last cen- 
tury. In the old song of the "Baron of Braikley," written in 1666, 
his lady tells him to soothe his alarm, on being attacked by the Farqu- 
harsons, " they were only herd widdifu's wi' belted plaids." 

This primitive garment is preserved in the uniform of the Highland 
regiments, which is an improvement on the simplicity of the original 
breacan. Being more convenient, as well as better adapted to the altered 
state of society, the modern belted plaid is much worn by the present 
Highlanders. The difference is this, that where, formerly, the lower 
and upper parts of the garb were attached, they are now separated, the 
lower part having the folds fixed by sewing, and being often worn with- 
out the other appendages. The plaid is fastened round the body and 
suspended from the shoulder, being, in like manner, made up by the 
tailor to imitate the ancient form. The loose end is represented by a 
small triangular piece of cloth suspended from the right side, where the 
end of the breacan was tucked under the belt. When the Highlander 
took the field during war, when he was engaged in hunting, tending his 
flocks in the mountains, or had occasion to travel far, he dressed in the 
feile-breacan; when he remained at home, he wore the feile-beag, as the 
most convenient. 

The shoulder plaid is worn by the present Highlanders chiefly for 
ornament, as may be seen in the 72nd regiment, being too narrow to 
answer the purposes for which it was at first intended. It is, however, 
susceptible of being thrown into a very becoming drapery. 



COSTUME. 169 

The Highland garb worn by one who knows how to dress properly in 
it, is, undoubtedly, one of the most picturesque in the world. Other 
nations may have an original garment resembling the feile-beag, or kilt; 
but the belted plaid is indisputably the invention of" the Gael, and bears 
no resemblance, either in its materials or arrangement, to the habit of 
any other people. 

The ample folds of the tartan, that are always arranged to show the 
characteristic or predominant stripe, and adjusted with great care, grace- 
fully depending from the shoulder, is a pleasing and elegant drapery, 
which being of itself, as it were, the entire vestment, presents an ensem- 
ble equally remote from the extremes of Asiatic and European dresses. 
It partakes of the easy flow of Oriental costume, suited to the indolence 
and efTeminacy of the inhabitants of the East; and, avoiding the angu- 
lar formality and stifTness of European attire, combines a great degree 
both of lightness and elegance. 

It is well known that the antiquity of the national garb has been ques- 
tioned, and the right of the Scots to claim it as original has been denied. 
In this respect, it has met no more favor than most of the peculiarities 
which distinguish this interesting portion of the British empire. 

John Pinkerton, an author notorious for his anti-Gaelic spirit, and 
whose learning is sullied by a rancor of feeling and heat of temper 
which he, nevertheless, reprobates in others with intemperate severity, 
asserts the antiquity of the feile-beag among the Highlanders to be very 
questionable; that it "is not ancient but singular, and adapted to their 
savage life — was always unknown among the Welsh and Irish, and that 
it was a dress of the Saxons, who could not afford breeches, &c."* He 
had before observed, that "breeches were unknown to the Celts, from 
the beginning to this day!"! 

Many papers have also appeared at different times in various publica- 
tions, discussing the question of its antiquity, and generally with a view 
to prove its late adoption by the Scots' Highlanders. These communi- 
cations have, in many cases, been answered, sometimes very ably, but 
in many instances without effect. Appeals to tradition are not very con- 
vincing arguments to set against the apparent authority of historical re- 
cord, but the passages which have been selected to show that the High- 
landers did not, until lately, wear the dress to which, from time imme- 
morial, we find them so much attached, do not, certainly, bear the con- 
structions that have been put on them. The point is, however, so unde- 
niably settled, that it is unnecessary to enter into a lengthened refutation 
of those writers, many of whom are anonymous. Alexander I. is repre- 
sented on his seal, engraved in Dr. Meyrick's superb work, with the 
feile-beag and round targe. Fordun, who wrote about 1350, describes 
the Highlanders as "forma spectabilis, sed amictu deformis." Major, 
who flourished in the beginning of the sixteenth century, says " a medio 
crure ad pedem caligas non habent; chlamyde pro veste superiore," &c. 

* Introd. to the Hist, of Scotland, ii, 73, &c. t Ibid. i. 394. 

■ 22 



no COSTUME. 

Lesly and Buchannan also notice it. Lindsay, of Pitscottie, who wrote 
in the vulgar tongue, cannot afford matter for the regret which some 
writers have expressed, that the terms in the Latin authors are vague 
and unsatisfactory. " The other pairt northerne," says he, " ar fall of 
montaines and verie rud and homelie kynd of people doeth inhabite, 
which is called the Reidschankes, or wyld Scottis, They be cloathed with 
ane mantle, with ane schirt, fachioned after the Irisch manner, going 
bair legged to the knie.'' * 

That the descriptions of this costume are neither very accurate nor 
very plain, is not much to be wondered at, when its essential difference 
from other habits is considered. It was certainly difficult for those who 
were unacquainted with its details to convey a proper idea of it. The 
old Scots of the Low Country mentioned it as " the Highland weed,"! 
" a light dress," &c. ; and, except to those who lived near the hills, or 
had intercourse with the inhabitants, their peculiarities were little known. 
Diodorus was unable to describe the singular dress of the Celts, which 
he thought was formed of cloth, ornamented in flowered work; and 
Beague, in 1549, from a superficial view of them, describes the High- 
landers as going almost naked, and says they wore painted waistcoats! ;| 

At the present day, although it has recently become so well known, 
there are many thousands who have a very indefinite idea of this cos- 
tume; and the ignorance of many who array themselves in tartan as 
members of societies, or to figure at fancy balls, with the paltry or ill 
adjusted trappings of the stage, do not convey the best idea of so pic- 
turesque and interesting a costume. 

In general, the legs of the ancient Celtte appear naked from the knee 
downwards. A figure of a man, represented in Montfaucon's interest- 
ing work, has his tunic falling a little below the knees, the limbs having 
no other covering, and this appears to have been no less a personage 
than Magister vici sandalarius of Metz. Some of the Germans and 
Daci, represented on the column of Trajan, appear in a sort of trowsers 
that are fastened at the ancles, and fit pretty close to the limbs. They 
reach to the waist, above which the figures are generally naked, except 
the covering of the sagum that hangs loosely from the shoulders. It is 
evident, from other remains, that this dress was not uniformly worn, for 
we see, on the same pillar, Sec. the above and other nations indifferently 
represented with their legs covered and exposed. 

The Gauls and Britons, it is asserted, wore the same chequered cloth 
which composed their upper garments, loosely wrapped around the limbs, 
and this part of their apparel is described under the term Braccce, from 
which the English " breeches " are derived. Polybius says, the Boii 
and Insubres of Gaul wore the braccse of their country; but Strabo con- 
fines their use to the Belgs. From this garment, which Tacitus calls 

* Chronicles of Scotland, Ixxiv. 4to. ed. 
t Spalding's Troubles of Scotland, 1645. 
t Hislory of the Scottit^h Campaig-ns, ap. Stewart's Sketches. 



COSTUME. ni 

" a barbarous covering," part of Gaul was called Braccata; the other, 
havino- adopted the long gown of the Romans, received the appropriate 
appellation Togata. Etymologists seem to agree that this name was 
expressive of the red or chequered appearance of the habit; but that it 
was similar to modern trowsers, is not so satisfactorily proved. Dr. 
Mac Pherson, who remarks that saga and bracca; were used indiscrim- 
inately by the Romans, says every Highlander in Britain knows that t!ie 
bracca was an upper garment of diverse colors. Brat, in Gaelic, is a 
mantle or covering, and in some parts of Scotland it is used for clothes. 
The Welsh, brati, tattered, Camden thinks, is derived from the Celtic 
bracca? ; but this does not favor the opinion that they were trowsers. 
They were used by the Getse and other Scyths, and Pinkerton asserts 
that they were always the grand badge of the Goths. " I have no proof," 
says Strutt, "from the Anglo-Saxon delineations, that the drawers were 
in use in this country prior to the ninth century, for the tunics of the 
soldiers are often represented so short, that much of their thighs are ex- 
posed to the sight." Polybius seems to prove that this part of Celtic 
dress was not of the form usually supposed, when he says that the Bo- 
lonians and Milanois, in the battle of Telamon, made choice of such as 
wore braccae, being at most ease in their dress, to stand the brunt of the 
action. Wolfgang describes it as a small tunic, that was fastened about 
the middle, and reached to the knees, a covering for the loins, a little 
cassock of various colors, covering one's nakedness.* 

Newte says the name for breeches in Gaelic is literally "a lock for 
the posteriors." In Welsh, they are termed Ihoudar, and in Cornish, 
lavrak. The common name in the Highlands for this part of male attire, 
is briogas, from briog, restraint. The English breeches appear to have 
retained a name, at first expressive of the color, or effect of the garment 
which covered the lower part of the body. The braccse, or reddish 
chequered tunic, was worn by all the Celts, and the breacan is still the 
national dress of their descendants, the term indicating its appearance, 
like the Welsh, and Armoric, brech, which signifies chequered. 

Pelloutier | derives the French brayes from the braccsE, and says they 
were the German hosen. Whittaker says brog, or brae, red, otherwise 
battais, or botes, were the untanned buskins of the Gael and Cumri. 
Here is the origin of boots, the prototypes of which must have been the 
red covering which the Celts had for their feet, and which has been since 
supplied by stockings and shoes.J Diodorus says the Celtiberians wore 
rough hair greaves about their legs; and the ancient Gauls, according 
to Cluverius, wore skins with the hair outside, tied on their feet. A 
similar covering was long worn by the Highlanders and Scots of Ulster, 
from which they obtained, among their southern neighbors, the name of 
red shanks: and although they have, for a considerable time, dropped the 

* De mig. Gentium, p. 157, &c. t Vol. ii. p. 152. 

I The mullei, anciently worn by the kings of Alba, were red, and leached to the 
middle of the leg. Rubenius de vet. vest. 



172 COSTUME. 

use of the untanned hide, which reached towards the calf of the leg, the 
hose supply their place, and the favorite color of these has always been 
red. 

The cuARAN reached higher than the brog, which simply covered the 
foot, both being fastened with laces of thong. The cuaran was worn in 
Man, and throughout the whole Highlands, where it is not yet, I believe, 
entirely disused. Their construction was simple: an oval piece of raw 
cow or horse's hide was drawn neatly round the foot by thongs of the 
same material, by means of holes in the margin. The hair was often 
kept inside for warmth: they were perfectly flexible, and were pierced 
with small holes, for the purpose of allowing the water received in cross- 
ing rivers and morasses to escape. The " veteres Brachge Britonis 
pauperis " is sufficiently expressive, if the term was applied to the cover- 
ing of the feet and legs, as there is so much reason to believe. It is in 
these days a common saying, to imply the utter uselessness of any thing, 
that it is not worth old shoes; and brogs, when worn out, were certainly 
good for nothing. Perhaps the Romans frequently saw the cast off 
brachfE of the Gauls, as the English did the cuarans of the Scots when 
Douglas evacuated his camp in 1327, leaving upwards of 10,000 old 
ones behind.* 

Cluverius says the Celtic shoes were formed with a sharp peak, like 
those worn in the middle ages.| Those of the old Highlanders were 
made, Martin tells us, according to Locke's mode, recommended in his 
system of education. They were always made right and left. 

The Gael began to improve their manufacture, but, like their ances- 
tors, covering for either feet or legs was quite dispensable. At Killi- 
cranky, they had neither. Birt mentions a Laird in the North, whom he 
once visited, and found a well educated and polite gentleman, who ap- 
peared without any other clothing for his lower extremities than what his 
breacan afforded. When the Highland regiments were embodied, dur- 
ing the French and American wars, hundreds of the men were brought 
down without either stockings or shoes, articles considered so necessary 
by those who live in more favored countries. Shoes, all of one piece 
and neatly stitched, have been discovered in the bogs of Ireland, where 
they must have lain for many ages. In the ancient vessel dug from the 
former bed of the river Rother, in Kent, shoes of a single sole, with no 
quarter, were found. 

About fifty or sixty years ago, brogs were made in the Northern 
counties of Caithness, Sutherland, Ross, &c., by itinerant shoemakers, 
at two pence a pair and victuals; the employer finding leather, hemp 
and rosin. Simple as these were, it is acknowledged that the shoes of 
modern times are not more durable. J An old Highlander, expatiating 
on the good old times, told me that the last pair he ever had, he wore so 

* Froissart. 

t GallicsB were a sort of wooden pattens ; Cicero ; or Galoches, Montf. 

t Agricultural Re)5orts. 



COSTUME. 173 

long, that, at last, he actually threw them away, when they were still fit 
for use. Latterly, brogs had a piece of leather on the toes, called frio- 
chan, from serving to protect them from the roughness of the heath. 
This was always cut in Vandyke fashion. 

In some parts, this native manufacture is given up, in consequence 
of the decay of the copse wood, which afforded the bark used in tanning 
the leather. 

Stockings, in Gaelic, Ossan, are said to have been derived from the 
Romans, the Celts originally wearing nothing but the untanned buskins. 
In Montfaucon's splendid work, pi. 196, I find a countryman represented 
with a chequered covering, resembling tartan hose: and a figure intro- 
duced by Wolfgang has a similar appearance. 

The sort of stockings now generally worn is represented in the figure 
of the Gordon, and is the military pattern; but the more ancient resem- 
bled that worn by the Stewart, which is copied from the painting of the 
regent, Murray, formerly at Fonthill Abbey. Various fancy patterns 
are worn in the Highlands, where they were formerly of the same sett 
as the plaid. They were not originally knitted, but formed out of the 
web with a considerable degree of ingenuity ; those of the common men 
in the Highland regiments are still made in this manner. 

The GARTERS are now chiefly red, but the native Gael continue to 
wear them like their fathers, striped in various colors. Among other 
presents given at Michaelmas in the Island of Uist, on occasion of 
annual horse racing, " the women presented the men with a pair of fine 
garters of divers colors."* The Lochaber garters were fringed, and 
when made of silk and fine wool would cost 2s. 6d. to 7s, Mrs. Mac 
Hardy, of Laggan, in her 100th year, knit a pair, which were presented 
to the Duke of Gordon by the celebrated Mrs. Grant. They were for- 
merly woven in a particular sort of loom, and some are said to be still 
manufactured in this way on the banks of Lochow. 

There is considerable taste displayed in tying the garter. In the 42nd 
regiment, it is fastened with a handsome knot: in the 92nd, this ornament 
is formed like a rose, by the needle, and is attached to the garter, a 
mode unknown to the genuine Highlanders, who often showed no tying, 
but even frequently turned the stocking over the garlan. The 78th, or 
Ross-shire Buffs, leave both ends depending from a tasteful knot. It is 
reckoned a great insult by the Gael to be told to tie their garter. 

It is here necessary to say something of the ancient habit of the Irish 
Gael, which has been described as a "mantle," and often as "trouse." 
Of this latter garment there appears to be as little known as of the 
brachse: it has been attempted to identify both with the modern trow- 
sers. In the time of Giraldus Cambrensis, the Irish wore trouse and 
mantles, that formed the common dress until the time of Charles I, and 
continued in partial use even later. Solinus says " they ben single and 



* Martin's Western Islands p. 



174 COSTUME. 

unseemly of clothing, having foldings instead of mantles and cloaks."* 
In the time of Richard II. Froissart describes them as breechless;t and, 
at Agincourt, Speed says there were 1,600 who were able men, but 
almost naked. Derrick also speaks of them as wearing no breeches, 
and describes " a coat of strange device," 

" His skirts be verie shorte, 

With pleates set thick about, 

And Irish trouzes, &c." 

They were "not lightly proud of apparel, "J but went commonly naked, 
according to Spenser, or at least "with naked sides and legs," the 
mantle being the principal covering, and it was "light to beare," and 
otherwise an advantageous garment. In summer, the wearer could have 
it loose: in winter, he could wrap it close: at all times he could use it, 
for " it was never heavy nor cumbersome." — " It was a fit house for an 
outlaw, a meet bed for a rebell, and an apt cloake for a thiefe."^ My 
opinion is, that the Irish trouse and mantle were formed like the belted 
plaid of the Scots' Highlanders, although the materials were not the 
same as in the breacan. We have seen how conveniently the plaid can 
be thrown over the shoulders, like a cloak: the Irish, in 1673, are de- 
scribed as being partial to this use of the mantle; || nay, Spenser says 
it was frequently wrapped over their left arm, so closely did it resemble 
the Highland garb. 

The Gaelic, triubhas, or triughas, the Irish trius, and Welsh trws, 
signify the vestment which covers the loins, derived from the root trus, 
gather, truss or tuck up, from which is trusgan, a covering, and also 
those parts which mankind first conceal. The breacan was always 
tucked up; but the term which was applicable to it, was given to the 
trowsers adopted on the prohibition of the ancient dress. 

In farther proof that the Irish costume resembled the beUed plaid, it 
may be observed, that Camden says the Scots and Irish resembled each 
other in dress and arms; and Birt, in describing the Highland dress, 
observes that "it was thought necessary in Ireland to suppress that habit 
by act of Parliament," without any dissatisfaction being evinced by the 
mountaineers in that country. A law passed in the parliament of 1585, 
by which it was ordained that none should appear in that assembly with 
Irish attire, to the great discontent of the members. Tirlogh Lenogh, 
chief Lord of Ulster, begged the Deputy to allow him to take his chap- 
lain in the trouse along the streets with him, because he was laughed at 
by every body in his new dress. I think it is Chaucer who relates a 
facetious story of these habiliments, which also tends to confirm the 
opinion of their not resembling modern trowsers. 

The Irish seem to have relinquished their ancient garb with less reluc- 
tance than might have been expected. The Scots could not be induced 
to lay it aside, notwithstanding the enactments against it; and so great 

*^ Trevisa's Polychronicon, xxxiv. f. 34. 1 Tome x. 161. 

i Riche, p. 34. § Spenser. 1| Present State of Ireland, 



TREWS— BONNET. 175 

was their aversion to quit the dress of their fathers, that the law was 
ingeniously evaded, or openly contemned. General Stewart relates 
many of the curious expedients which were adopted to comply with the 
order to wear breeches, and yet retain the loved breacan. The law, 
however its infringement might be overlooked, was imperative against 
the Highlander, who could neither, with safety, wear his native cloth, 
nor carry his proper arms. I have read, in a Scots' newspaper of 1750, 
the trial of a person for murder, who was eventually acquitted, as the 
individual he killed wore a tartan dress! In 1782, this oppressive and 
ineffectual law was modified, inasmuch as the prohibition against cos- 
tume was repealed. The strong attachment of the Highlanders to the 
breacan-feile might be illustrated by many anecdotes. It served as a 
mark of distinction from the people of the machair, or plain land, for 
whom they had no great affection. An old farmer in the Highlands of 
Banffshire said he "would never lippen to a bodach that wore the 
breeks." When the Fencible regiments were ordered to assume 
breeches, many of the soldiers had never worn such articles of dress, 
and were consequently, for some time, extremely awkward in dressing, 
which their displeasure at being deprived of their wonted habit did not 
tend to remove. An old man in a certain corps had put on his small 
clothes as Paddy did his coat, the back part before. His officer and 
some of his companions were laughing heartily at the mistake, when 
Donald, nettled at their jeers, observed that he was indeed ignorant of 
such dress, and never thought he should know any thing of the unmanly 
gear; and, as his indignation waxed high, " the deevil damn the loon," 
he exclaimed, "that sent them to us! " 

The TRiuGHAs, pronounced trius, are pantaloons and stockings, joined, 
and are either knit like the latter, or, according to the ancient manner, 
are formed of tartan cloth, nicely fitted to the shape and fringed down 
the leg. They were sometimes merely striped, and were fastened by a 
belt around the loins, with a square piece of cloth hanging down before. 

It required considerable skill to make the trius. The measure was a 
stick, in length one cubit, divided into one finger and a half There is 
preserved a Gaelic saying respecting this garment, by which we are 
given to understand that there were two full nails to the small of the leg, 
eleven from the haunch to the heel, seven round the band, and three to 
the breech, a measure inapplicable to few well-made men. The purse 
and other articles were worn equally with the trius as with the feilebeag. 

BoiNED, or cappan, was the Celtic name for the covering of the head, 
the materials of which, among the most ancient Gauls and Britons, were 
different. We may presume that as the form was not much unlike the 
present, the same woollen was occasionally adopted. It may be noticed 
that Giraldus Cambrensis mentions Beaver hats, to which the inhabi- 
tants are still partial, having been discovered in Cardiganshire.* 

The round bonnet was, however, not only worn by the Britons, but 

* Tour in Wales. 1775. 



176 BONNET. 

was formerly used over almost all Europe; * the shape, at least, resem 
bling that worn by the Scots, although the materials might have been 
different. It was either to encourage the woollen manufacture, or to 
repress extravagance in dress, that so many laws have been passed. In 
England, it was ordained in 1571, that every person above seven years 
of age should wear, on Sundays and holidays, a cap of wool knit, thick- 
ened and dressed in the country by the cappers, under the penalty of 
3s. 4d. for every day's neglect; lords, knights, gentlemen of twenty 
marks' land, such as have borne offices of worship, gentlewomen, ladies 
and maids being excepted. In 1489, the price of caps was fixed at 2s. 8d. 
General Stewart remarks that the Basques wear caps, in materials and 
form, exactly like the Highlanders. A relation of the author, who 
entered France with the British army, was surprised to find his native 
bonnets worn by the peasants inhabiting the Pyrenean mountains. 

The figure of St. Andrew in the sceptre of Scotland, made in the time 
of James v., wears a broad bonnet. This appears to have been formerly 
the general headdress in Scotland, the hat having rapidly come into 
use. In the agricultural report of Caithness, it is stated that, in 1793, 
eight boxes of hats only were imported, but in 1803 they amounted to 
fifty-four. 

The ancient head-piece of a full dressed Celtic warrior was a skull- 
cap; from the minstrel Harry, we find that Wallace wore one within his 
bonnet.* 

The bonnet is thickened, by a peculiar process, into a body of consid- 
erable density. The color is commonly dark blue, but it was formerly 
also black, or gray, and a narrow stripe of red, white, or green was 
often carried round the lower edge; and occasionally these were pleas- 
ingly combined. The chequer work, worn by the military, is now the 
common ornament, but it does not appear to be very ancient. Accord- 
ing to General Stewart, it originated in the time of Montrose's wars, 
and represents the armorial bearing of the royal family. The Stewart's 
belt, or fess, is, however, cheeky argent and azure. The bonnets ter- 
minate in a knot, generally of the same color, but often red, white, or 
black._ They are usually augmented to a small tuft, and are sometimes 
formed of silk. I have heard it said that some of the officers, in the re- 
bellion of 1745, had them of silver and gold fringe. Beautiful substi- 
tutes for the old chequer are now to be had of those who furnish the 
costume. 

The inhabitants of Badenoch, Strathspey, Strathdon, &c. wear the 
bonnet cocked. The Strathdee men are distinguished by having it flat, 
as numbers 1,2, in the plate. 

The bonnet is cocked, or made into the desired shape, by means of 
padding, Slc, the broad sort being distended by a small hoop. The 
Scots' military appear, from old prints, to have worn bonnets; but the 

* The Irish formerly wore a cap of frieze, called cappeene. The regal cap was called 
Asion. It is singular to perceive the shape of the modern hat in many ancient figures 




Manner of lying the Garter. 



^oftnetf} o/i^ ^iaA/(Uf</eU W*^ e^ fiwUM J tAe cl^ieKe iMejum^nU. 



PURSE. 177 

present shape is not ancient. Before the black plumes weie introduced, 
bear's skin was used, as in the caps of modern grenadiers. The bonnet 
was bound with leather, by the common sort; with black ribbon and 
velvet, by others; and a cockade of the same materials, with a pin, in 
some cases of silver, but usually formed from the shank bone of a deer's 
leg, ornamented with the person's crest, motto, and initials, and called 
dealg, secured the badge and the eagles' feathers. 

The Highlanders bestowed much of their usual attention to dress, in 
making up the bonaid, and took particular care to have a sufficient 
length of ribbon to wave about their ears. The officers of the 92nd 
used, formerly, to have three of black velvet, fixed to the cape of the 
jacket behind, which had a pretty effect. 

This dress is said, perhaps untruly, to be too warm for the head. It 
has this convenience in wet weather, that the Highlander can tak^ it off 
and wring out the water. 

Kilmarnock is the most noted mart for this article, but " The bonnet 
makers of Dundee " are celebrated in their national music. The central 
Highlanders supply themselves in Perth. 

The PURSE, sporan, of the Highlanders, like the other parts of their 
costume, is not only useful, but highly ornamental. Anciently, it was 
small, and less decorated than it is now seen. That of the unfortunate 
Lord Lovat is of this description. The tassels, instead of the silver or 
other adjuncts, were fixed with small strips of leather, neatly and ingeni- 
ously interwoven. In many cases, the purse was formed of leather, 
like a modern reticule, and appears to have been tied in front. It is 
formed into several distinct pockets, in which the Gael carried their 
money, watch, &c., and sometimes also their shot; but, anciently, they 
bore a similar tvallet, or builg, at the right side, for the latter, or for a 
quantity of meal or other provision. This was termed dorlach, and was 
the knapsack of the Highland soldier; and, small as that of the present 
military is, among the Gael, it was still more portable. "Those of the 
English who visited our camp," says an author quoted by Jamieson, 
"did gaze with admiration upon those supple fellows, the Highlanders, 
with their plaids, targets, and dorlachs." The purse admits of much 
ornament, but, according to my taste, when too large, it hides the beautj 
of the kilt. The village of Doune, in Perthshire, was, at one time, cel- 
ebrated for the manufacture of purses, which is now entirely given up. 

The first covering which mankind adopt is necessarily loose, and must 
be fastened round the body. Dress is, also, first assumed as a military 
costume; the belt which secures the garment serving to sustain the 
sword, and, from the primitive fashion of raiment, the ancients continued 
to call putting on armor, begirding.* 

The baldricks of the Celts received a large share of ornament ; and 
the Highlanders displayed, in the sword and dirk belt, as well as in that 

* Pausanias, ix. 17. " Girded " was used in this sense by the Scots. 

23 



178 ORNAMENTS. 

which bound the female dress, precious stones, handsome buckles 
crests, mottoes, devices, and foliage. 

The shot-pouch attached to the belt, which is around the middle, is a 
late improvement; and the eadharc an foudre, or powder horn, suspend- 
ed also on the right side by a silver or other chain, was, likewise, recent- 
ly introduced. 

The shoe buckles cannot date higher than their introduction to Scot- 
land. They were only invented about 1680. 

In 1673, it was remarked that Irish gentlemen seldom wore bands, or 
neckcloths. These were unknown to the old Highlanders, who left the 
neck bare, even when linen shirts became a usual article of dress; some- 
times a black ribbon supplied their place. 

In addition to what has been above explained, may be added a de- 
scription of certain articles essential to the dress of ancient and modern 
times, but more correctly coming under the denomination of ornaments. 
The Celts, in the most remote ages, as we have seen, evinced their per- 
sonal vanity by their gaudy and costly ornaments. The Gauls had little 
or no silver, but plenty of gold, with chains of which they loaded them- 
selves. The massy torques, of pure and beaten gold, which hung around 
their necks, were a desirable booty to the avaricious Romans; besides 
which, they wore bracelets of it about their arras and wrists, and had 
croslets of gold upon their breasts.* Polybius describes their whole 
army in Hannibal's service, as shining with the splendor of their dress. 

A sort of fine golden carcanets, of green-colored gems, called- by the 
Romans virise, were properly Celticas; and the necklaces of gold, called 
viriolce, were distinguished as Celtibericae.| The Britons were equally 
vain of their persons, and studious to deck themselves in rich attire. 
Those who could not obtain gold or silver, imitated their more fortunate 
companions in less valuable materials. Herodian says the Picts wore 
chains of iron for ornament. In the South, the precious metals were 
less scarce. Bondiuca wore a massive chain of gold around her neck; 
and a great number, taken with the noble Caractacus, were borne in 
procession before him at Rome. The Caledonians, from some discove- 
ries, appear to have worn armlets. J These were often of massy gold, 
in South Britain. 

Small jet, and other ornaments, have been found in sepulchres 
throughout the Highlands; but it is impossible to enumerate the various 
articles discovered in British interments, every grave, almost, producing 
something different from what has been before seen.§ 

The dress of the Celtic women was, anciently, little different in form 
from that of the men. The tunic was bound round the waist, and had 

* Diodorus. Polybius. t Pliny, xxxiii. 3. 

t A barrow opened at Glenholin, Peeblesshire. Stat. Acct. iv. 

§ Those who are curious to know something of the variety of ornaments among 
these ingenious people, are referred to Douglas's " Nennia Britannica," Sir R. Hoare's 
" Ancient Wiltshire," the "Transactions of the Ant. of London and Scotland," " Sib- 
bald's Erud. Ant. Misc." S 2, &c. 



WOMEN'S DRESS. 179 

seldom any sleeves, their arms being left bare, and their bosoms partly 
uncovered. They wore a sagum, which they fastened, like the men, 
with a pin or brooch, as they did other parts of their dress, whence, 
Pinkerton thinks, may be derived the usual perquisite of females, pin 
money. Bondiuca wore a tunic of various colors, long and plaited; over 
which she had a large vest and thick mantle, which was the dress she 
wore at all times. 

A passage in Ossian may allude to the introduction of the Roman toga, 
adopted by the South Britons: of Moina, daughter of Reuthamor, king 
of Balclutha, it is said that her dress was not like that worn by the Cale- 
donians, "her robes were from the strangers' land." The females are 
represented, some centuriessince, as wearing sheep skins; but the 
authority for this is doubtful. 

The Irish women wore a mantle similar in form to that used by the 
men, but longer. Pinkerton, on the authority of Giraldus, says they had 
little caputii, or hoods of plaid, and linen vests. This mantle seems to 
be described, in 1673, as " a sort of loose gowns."* Women in the 
Highlands, before marriage, went with the head bare; when they were 
privileged to cover it, they wore the curch, curaichd, or breid, of linen, 
which was put over the head and fastened under the chin, falling in a 
tapering form on the shoulders, A large lock of hair hung down each 
side of the face to the bosom, the lower end being ornamented with a 
knot of ribbons. The Welsh still wear a handkerchief, fastened in a 
somewhat similar manner to the Highlanders. 

The TONNAG is a small square of Tartan, or other woollen stuff, worn 
over the shoulders, in manner of a mantle. 

The AiRisAiD was a peculiar garment, the same as was worn by Bon- 
diuca, and is mentioned in one of the poems of Alexander Mac Donald 
as having been worn so late as 1740.'|" 

The plaid, which was usually white, with a few stripes of black, blue 
or red, and made of sufficient length to reach from the neck to the an- 
kles, being nicely plaited all round, was fastened about the waist with a 
belt, and secured on the breast by a large brooch. The belt was of 
leather, and several pieces of silver intermixed, giving it the semblance 
of a chain, and, "at the lower end was a piece of plate, about eight 
inches long and three broad, curiously engraven, the end of which was 
ingeniously adorned with fine stones, or pieces of red coral." This 
singular ornament and vesture are now unknown. 

The chief ornament of the Gael, both of Albin and Erin, was the 
brooch for fastening the plaid, on the shoulders of men and on the breasts 
of women. It was formed of brass, silver or gold, and adorned with 
precious stones, according to the fancy or means of the wearer. 

It was sometimes as large as an ordinary sized platter, and had a 
smaller one within, for fastening the dress, that weighed between two 

* Present State of Ireland. 

i Quoted in Mr. Ronald Mac Donald's collection of Gaelic poems. 



180 THE BROOCH.— WOMEN'S DRESS. 

and three ounces, and was ornamented with a large crystal, or cairngo- 
rum, in the centre, with others of a lesser size set around it. The whole 
was curiously engraved, the figures being the well-known tracery, ani- 
mals, &c. Martin says, he has seen some silver buckles worth 100 marks. 
The one here represented in possession of Mr. Donald Currie, is 
drawn by a scale half the size of the original. It is of silver, weighing 
two ozs. twelve dwts., and is a good specimen of the general form and 
ornaments of the brooch. 




A simple form of fibula, found in a barrow near Canterbury, is shown 
at the end of this chapter, but the ancient Britons had some, very in- 
geniously and elaborately constructed. The old Highlanders had also 
brooches of superior workmanship. That of Bruce, in possession of 
Mac Dougal, of Lorn, according to the description of a gentleman who 
has seen it, is silver, of a cup form, with a large cairngorum or topaz in 
the centre. It was some time in the custody of the Campbells, of Glen- 
lyon, who have another similar relic, of silver, studded with pearls and 
uncut gems, having underneath a centre bar and two pins, or tongues. 
Of this brooch Pennant has given an engraving. 

The ladies, in those days, wore sleeves of scarlet cloth, like those of 
the men, laced with gold or silver, and adorned with buttons of plate, set 
with precious stones. The old Irish adorned themselves with large jewels. 

The Cuirtan, or white twilled cloth, made from fine wool, was used 
exclusively for under petticoats and hose, before the invention of modern 
stockings, and the industry of young women was judged of by its fine- 
ness and whiteness. A large sort of hose were called Ossan preasach. 

A favorite pattern of stuff for female dresses, was crimson and black, 
in stripes of three or four threads in the woof, the warp being all black; 
besides which, there was a sort much worn by women and children. It 
was made party-colored, by tying cords very tight round the hasps of 
yarn, when undergoing the process of dying; thus, supposing the color 



SHIRTS.— LINEN. 181 

blue, the spots preserved white by the ligatures would appear irregular- 
ly throughout the web, forming a motley texture, or cloud-figured pattern. 

The upper garment of the females of former ages, throughout the 
North and West of Scotland, was the full plaid, which usually contained 
three yards in length and two in breadth, and which, in the Highlands, 
was often of the cuirtan, or white sort, but, in the Low Country, was of 
all manner of showy patterns, either worsted or silk.* 

This garment is worn over the head, and fastened under the chin with 
a brooch or pin, like the habit of certain nuns, or otherwise only over 
the shoulders, as the state of the weather may permit. From the change 
of manners, the use of the plaid is now almost confined to the elderly 
females, but was formerly worn by the married, whether young or old. 
An English gentleman, who visited Edinburgh in 1598, says, " the cit- 
izens' wives, and women of the country, did wear cloaks made of a coarse 
cloth, of two or three colors, in checker work, vulgarly called Ploddan." f 

In Edinburgh, where Birt says it was the undress, and, perhaps, in 
other places, the ladies formerly denoted their political principles by the 
manner of wearing their plaids, those who were Jacobites being thus 
distinguished. When adjusted with a good air, the plaid was very be- 
coming, the ends either falling as low as the ankle, or being held up in 
graceful folds; usually by the left arm, to leave the right at liberty, but 
sometimes by both. 

Those who have been in the brae country of Scotland, cannot forget 
the picturesque effect of the congregation of a kirk on Sunday, loitering 
in the churchyard until the commencement of worship, or moving along 
the mountain paths, the men in their varied tartans and smartly cocked 
bonaids, the married women in their gaudy plaids and snow-white mutch- 
es, or caps, the girls with their auburn hair neatly bound up in the snood. 

The shirts of the Highlanders were formerly of woollen, from the use 
of which rheumatism, and other complaints, were little known. Although 
linen was not in very general use, it was far from being rare ; and the 
expense to which the Gael went in their shirts was astonishing. The 
Lenicroich, or large shirt, worn by persons of rank, was dyed of a saf- 
fron color, and contained twenty-four ells. In Ireland, the natives are 
said to have required above thirty yards in the composition of this vest- 
ment, a fashion so expensive that a law was passed by Henry VIII., by 
which they were prohibited from putting more than seven yards in it, 
under a severe penalty. J Great quantities of linen were formerly made 
to supply the demand for these garments. The Lenicroich was fastened 
round the middle by a belt, and reached below the knees, being gathered 
into folds, or pleats, like the breacan, but was not, as its name would 
seem to imply, worn under other clothing: it was an upper garment. It 

* Plaids, all of scarlet, were latterly reckoned most genteel, 
t Arnot's Hist, of Edinburgh ; it is still called plaiding, in the Low lands. 
t A Description of Ireland, Leyden, 1627, quoted by Gratianus Lucius. Acts of Par 
liament 



.182 CONVENIENCE OF THE DRESS. 

would appear from Spenser that it was worn by both sexes, the women, as 
Riche describes them, wearing deep smock sleeves, like herald maundi- 
es. " Linnen shirts," says Campion, " the rich doe weare for wanton- 
nes and bravery, with wide hanging sleeves, playted, thirtie yards being 
little enough for one of them. They have now," he continues, " left 
their saffron, and learne to wash their shirts foure or five times in a 
yeare."* 

The Celts had, in very early ages, attained celebrity for the perfec- 
tion to which they carried the growth of flax and manufacture of linen. 
The Iberians of Tarraconia excelled in its fineness, and those in the 
army at Cannae were clad in shirts of linen, worked with purple, after 
the manner of their country. | 

The use of linen appears to have been more common among the 
Gallic and German females, than among the men. Beyond the Rhine, 
the females thought themselves most grand when dressed in fine linen.J 
The vests of the German ladies were embroidered with purple. § Whit- 
taker says, the skiurd, or shirt, was derived from the Romans; but 
surely these linen vestments were shirts, to all intents and purposes. 
Lein is the Gaelic for this part of apparel. By the Cadurci, Caletes, 
Rutene, Bituriges, Morini, and throughout all Gaul, linen cloth and 
canvass for sails were manufactured. 

The Gauls and Britons pounded the flax, when spun, in a stone mor- 
tar with water; and, when woven, it was beaten upon a smooth stone 
with broad clubs. The more frequently and forcibly, the whiter and 
softer it became; and, to make the water more eflficacious in cleansing, 
some put into it the roots of wild poppies and other herbs. |1 This mode 
of bleaching, or whitening linen, by beating it, is still practised in Scot- 
land and Ireland, where it is called beetling, from the wooden imple- 
ment with which it is struck. 

• The Scots' women, both single and married, have generally good 
store of sheets and blankets. 

The hardihood of the Celtic race has been before noticed. Their 
dress inured them to the vicissitudes and severity of the climate. The 
lusty youth, says Marcellinus, had their limbs hardened with frost and 
continual exercise. 

Pelloutier relates an anecdote which shows how little these people 
regarded exposure to cold. One morning that the snow lay deep on the 
ground, one of their kings, who was well clothed, perceiving a man lay- 
ing down naked, asked if he was not cold.' " Is your face cold.' " replied 
he. " No," said the king. " Neither, then," returned the man, " do 
I feel cold, for I am all face. "IT 

The Highlanders, before the subversion of their primitive institutions, 
were indifferent to the severity of a winter night, resting with content in 

* Hist, of Ireland, 1571. t Polybius, iii. t Pliny, xix. 1 

§ Tacitus. II Pliny, xix. xx. 2 and 3. 

If Tome ii. c. 7, from jEUian, Var. Hist. vii. 6. 



LAWS TO RESTRAIN ITS USE. 183 

the open air, amid rain or snow. With their simple breacan they suffer- 
ed "the most cruel tempest that could blow, in the field, in such sort, 
that under a wreath of snow they slept sound." The advantage of this 
vesture was almost incalculable. During rain it could be brought over 
the head and shoulders; and, while other troops suffered from want of 
shelter, the Highlander carried in his mantle an ample quantity of 
warm covering. If three men slept together, they were enabled to 
spread three folds of warm clothing under, and six above them. The 
42nd, 78th, and 79th regiments, who marched through Holland in 1794, 
when the cold was so severe as to freeze brandy in bottles, suffered in- 
comparably less than other corps who wore plenty of warm apparel. 

O'Leary, contrasting the ancient state of his countrymen with their 
degeneracy, and, alluding to their practice of sleeping in the woods, 
observes that "the uprising combatant had not the ringlets of his hair 
bound with frost." Breeches formed no part of their ancient costume; 
and, even in 1712, Dobbs tells us that they went bare-legged most part 
of the year. From constant exposure to a cold and inconstant climate, 
the Gael were inured and indifferent to hardships. They were so habit- 
uated to wet, that it had no effect on their constitutions. 

However rude and unpolished the ancient Gael were, according to 
our ideas who live in an age of so high refinement, they were certainly 
in possession of many curious and useful arts. Giraldus Cambrensis is 
convicted of falsehood, in saying that the Irish had no manufactures, it 
being evident, even from his own testimony, that they had knitters, 
weavers, dyers, fullers, tailors, &c. If they had not the art of making 
cloth, where did they procure the braccse, the phalangium, or sagum, 
with caputii of various colors, which he says they wore.'' 

While the Highlanders were able to produce cloth of many brilliant 
and permanent colors, the inhabitants of other countries were less skil- 
ful manufacturers. I believe it is Camden who relates, that at the time 
of the Spanish Armada invasion, the people of England were generally 
obliged to wear white cloth, because they could not send it to the Low 
Country to be dyed. 

That the Franks and Saxons retained, for a long time, the manufac- 
tures of their Celtic ancestors, has been shown. Charlemagne, adher- 
ing to the primitive costume, dressed like the Scots' Highlanders; and, 
from Windichind's description of a Saxon, he closely resembled a Cale- 
donian.* 

The costume of the Gael, like their language, being so different from 
that of the other inhabitants of the British islands, was fondly retained 
as a national distinction, and a memorial of their independence. 

This strong predilection led to repeated enactments. By an act of the 
fifth of Edward IV. the Irish were ordered to dress like the English, un- 
der the pain of a forfeiture of goods; and a similar law was passed in the 
tenth of Henry VII. These statutes had little effect, for, in the twenty- 

* Camden's Britannia. 



184 ACT AGAINST THE DRESS REPEALED. 

eighth of Henry VIII. another enactment prohibits, under a severe pen 
alty, all persons from shaving above their ears, wearing cromeal on their 
lips, or glibes on their heads; or from dressing in any shirt, smock, 
kerchor, bendel, neckerchor, mochet, or linen cap, colored or dyed with 
saffron; or to wear in their shirts or smocks move than seven yards of 
eloth, according to the king's standard.* 

The Irish, notwithstanding these peremptory statutes, which were 
strictly enforced by Queen Elizabeth, had not entirely laid aside their 
ancient garb, in the middle of the seventeenth century. It was, how- 
ever, confined to the peasantry, the dress of others being assimilated to 
the prevailing fashion in England, although, in some parts, an adhe- 
rence to ancient custom was apparent. The costume of the gentry, at 
the above period, is described as consisting of a leather quilted jacke, 
long-slieved smocks, half-slieved coats, silken fillets, and riding shoes of 
costly cordwaine.j 

The Highlanders were prohibited from carrying their arms by the 
first parliament of George I., 1716. In 1747, a similar act was passed, 
with these more oppressive and absurd additions, that " neither man nor 
boy, except such as should be employed as officers and soldiers, should, 
on any pretence, wear or put on the clothes commonly called Highland 
clothes, viz. the plaid, philibeg, or little kilt, trowse, shoulder belts, or 
any part whatsoever of what peculiarly belongs to the Highland garb; 
and that no tartan or party-colored plaid, or stuff, should be used for 
great coats or for upper coats." In 1782, the Duke of Montrose brought 
forward a bill, by which " so much of the above, or any other acts, as 
restrain the use of the Highland dress, is repealed." 

The costume of the Gael is no longer deemed a mark of disloyalty, 
and an object of legal prohibition. The harsh and unnecessary law 
which denounced the use of tartan has been expunged from the statute 
book; and one of the most popular objects of the Highland Societies of 
London and Edinburgh, with their various branches, is to cherish and 
promote an attention to this honorable and manly costume, so appropri- 
ate a concomitant to the peculiar language and manners of the Scotish 
Gael. The Highland dress is universally admired and respected. On 
the Continent, where the bravery and moral worth of the Scots is known 
and appreciated, it is not merely an object of interest: it is a passport 
to the best society, and a uniform that can rank with the proudest of 
orders. Our gracious Sovereign, when he visited the capital of his north- 
ern dominions, personally fixed it as the court dress of Scotland. 




Harris's ed. of S. J. Ware's Antiquities of Ireland, ii. 178. t Spenser. 




CHAPTER VII. 

OF THE ARMS AND MILITARY ACCOUTREMENTS OF THE CELTS. 

The armor of the Celts may not inappropriately be considered their 
dress, inasmuch as they seldom laid aside their arms of defence, and 
never appeared abroad without some part of their military weapons. 
Respecting these, we have to express the same regret that was occasion- 
ed by the subject of the preceding Chapter: there are few monuments 
of antiquity that can, with certainty, be pronounced Gallic, and of these 
few, scarcely any display the military attire; the Romans, according to 
Montfaucon, repressing any desire to represent a subjugated people as 
independent warriors. It was a particular honor conferred on two Cel- 
tic legions, and a tribute to their unparalleled bravery, that statues of 
them in their arms were set up at Edessa, as before recited. 

The Gauls, in general, sought no other defence than what nature sup- 
plied, despising artificial means of protecting their bodies;* but, when 
fully accoutred, they had both helmets and shields, breast-plates, and 
coats of mail, the common use of which was, apparently, confined to the 
nobles; the vassals, or clients, being unable to procure these articles, 
or, perhaps, denied the privilege of wearing them. The German foot, 
in the days of Tacitus, were either naked, or dressed in light cassocks, 
having few coats of mail, and fewer helmets. The ancient Britons are 
described as going generally almost naked, disregarding all defensive 
armor, except the shield.f 

It does not appear whether the plates of iron with which they covered 
their necks and bellies, J were used as ornaments or for protection. 
Mela says, the Britons wore the same armor as the Gauls, but, like 

* Diodorus. t Herodian, iii. | Dio. 

24 



186 CELTS' CONTEMPT TOR DEFENSIVE ARMOR. 

them, they relied on their dexterity and physical strength rather than on 
any defensive armor, which they considered as an incumbrance, if not an 
indication of cowardice. "I wear no armor," said an Earl of Strath- 
erne, at the battle of the Standard, 1138; "yet they who do, will not 
advance beyond me this day." Giraldus Cambrensis says, the Welsh 
fought naked, or used very light armor, that it might not impede their 
exertions, the Irish despising it altogether. At the battle of Telamon, 
the Gesata3 stripped off their dresses and stood before the army naked, 
carrying their weapons only, that they might not be entangled by the 
bushes or otherwise obstructed. Polybius describes it as terrible, and 
astonishing to see those men marching naked, and to observe the motion 
of their big bodies; conduct, however, more fool-hardy than discreet, for 
they were dreadfully galled by the Roman archers, and, finally, beaten 
back with dreadful slaughter. On other occasions, we find this practice 
of denuding themselves noticed. The Gael retained the same custom 
until almost the last century, the chief being the first to set the example. 
However creditable this was to their heroism, and however advantageous 
it might be in allowing a perfect freedom of action, the want of defen- 
sive armor must have, on many occasions, been severely felt. The peo- 
ple of the Low Country were, in this respect, superior to the Highland- 
ers, who, as the song says, 

" Had only got the belted plaid, 
While they were mail-clad men." 

Or as was observed of their scanty covering in a later age, 

" The Highland men are clever men, at handling sword or bow, 
But yet they are ower naked men, to bide the gun, I trow." 

However much the Celts may have valued themselves on their con- 
tempt for armor, they were not ignorant of its utility, nor deficient in its 
fabrication. They were dexterous in the manufacture of military wea- 
pons, and careful, even to nicety, of their warlike accoutrements. Their 
greatest delight was in the excellence and beauty of their arms; the 
ancient Irish appearing, from Solinus, to have been remarkable for this 
attention to their appointments. 

To the Gauls the honor of inventing chain mail appears due, which, 
from being at first made of leather, according to Varro,* acquired the name 
of Lorica. It is called, in Gaelic, luirich, and was the usual body covering 
of the Scots and Irish, who wore armor, the plate being almost unknown 
among tnem; and it seems to have been worn of considerable length, 
•'The armqr wherewith they cover their bodies," says the old Chronicle 
before quoted, " in time of war, is an iron bonnet and an habergion side 
almost even to their heels." Throughout Scotland, the jaque de maill 
was chiefly worn, according to a French author, who describes it in the 
sixteenth century; and the person who furnished Holinshed with his ac- 
count of Scotland seems to prefer it, as he regrets that his countrymen 
should use heavy armor. The Irish full armed troops, in the seventeenth 

* De linjTua Latina. 



MAIL AND HELMETS OF THE CELTIC NATIONS. 187 

century, wore shirts of mail that reached to the calf of the leg, and 
which were sometimes of leather, stuck with iron nails.* They also 
had girdles, that were proof against shot.| 

The Cirabri wore iron breastplates; J and some of the Gauls, accord- 
ing to Diodorus, had a sort of cuirass of similar metal, formed in rings, 
or hooked, resembling chain mail, as some think. They had also a 
kind of interlaced wicker under their vests. 

Helmets were more general, it would appear, among the Gauls than 
the Germans, who, from various sculptures, are seen with a piece of 
cloth wrapped round their heads. In the form and ornaments of the 
helmet, the Celts had an opportunity for indulging their passion for dec- 
oration. 

Among the Gauls, the Lusitanians, the Celtiberians, and all of the 
same race, they were made of brass. The former sometimes fixed on 
them appendages resembling horns, or the wings of Mercury, of the 
same metal, or embellished them with the figures of birds and beasts. 
The tribes in Spain and Portugal surmounted them with red plumes, ap- 
parently of horses' hair,§ and the Cimbri had them formed like the jaws 
and muzzles of various wild beasts, adorning them farther with plumes, 
like wings, of a prodigious height, j] Chonodomarius, a celebrated hero, 
is described as riding about in glittering armor, with a flame-colored 
wreath or tassel on his helmet. IT 




In the preceding cut, the two helmets on the right are from the sculp- 
tures at the church of Notre Dame, Paris; the upper one on tne left is 
from Dr. Meyrick's work on armor, as is the one in the vignette, the 
lower is from a figure engraved in Montfaucon's Antiquities; and that 
in the centre from a German on the column of Antoninus 

The Massagetse had their helmets and breastplates ornamented with 

* Spenser. Ware. \ Barn. Riche. t Plutarch, de Bello Cimb. 

§ Diodorus. \\ Plutarch, ut sup. H Amm. Mar. xvi. 10. 



188 ■ CELTIC SHIELDS. 

gold. The Thracians, in Xerxes's time, had caps of foxes' skins.* It 
is probable the ancient Caledonians had a covering for the head, of a 
similar material; little Oscar, in Smith's version of " Cathula," being 
represented with his little helm of the fur of fawns. 

The helmet, clogaid, literally the apex, or ceann-bheart, a headpiece, 
is mentioned by the oldest bards as not uncommon amongst the Gael; 
and from these authorities we find that they were adorned with the feath- 
ers of the eagle's wing, perhaps the whole pinion, by which Ossian 
appears to have recognised an Irish chief, it being a mark of distinction, 
for we find the " gray feather " always worn by a hero. We must make 
allowance for the privilege of the poetical historians to embellish their 
recitals by national imagery, every individual figuring in these tales be- 
ing a hero, if not a cean-tigh,^ and consequently entitled to wear a 
helmet and its proper crest. Whether helmets formed of metal were very 
numerous in Caledonia during the Fingalian dynasty, may be doubted; 
but the eagle's feather has ever been the peculiar badge of Highland 
nobility. 

A skull cap, in times less distant from the present age, protected the 
chieftain's head, and does not at any time appear to have been worn by 
those under the degree of a Galloglach. Among the Irish, the glibe, 
or matted hair, served the purpose of a helmet, but they also used a 
head-piece covered with hide. The Scots were long but ill provided 
with armor. At the battle of the Standard, the infantry had nothing for 
defence but a target of leather. 

The SHIELD of the Gauls, according to Strabo and Virgil, was usually 
long, J and the Ligurians carried one of the same form. In sculpture, 
we perceive the Germans with an oval shaped buckler of ample dimen- 
sions. Tacitus admits it was large, but suited to the size of the bearer. 
From the plates in Cluverius's work, we find it was at first formed of the 
rough wood, or bark of a tree, sometimes retainirig the natural curve, but 
at other times appearing flat, and nearly the length of the body; in several 
instances it appears formed of straw, or rushes, something resembling 
the work of bee-hives. 

A small round shield seems, however, to have been the favorite of the 
CeltiE ; and Schoepflin notices the remains of some discovered in Ger- 
many. § Several of the Celtiberi used the light shield of the Gauls, and 
others bore round targets, the size of bucklers ;|| but, at Cannae, Poly- 
bius says they both carried the same kind, which he describes as weak. IT 
The Roman shield was, at first, square; but in their wars with the 
Tyrhenians, a people of Gallic origin, they adopted the round form used 
by that people.** From the spoils that were taken at Thermopylae 
where the Gauls had no other weapons of defence, and deposited in the* 

* Herodotus, vii. 75. t Head of a house, chieftain. 

t Lib. iv. p. 299, ed. 1707. .ffineid, viii., v. 660, &c. 

§ Alsatia illustrala, i. 67. || Diodorus. 

^ Lib. ii. 2. ** Diodorus, Fraginenta xxiii. 



CELTIC SHIELDS. 189 

temple of Apollo at Delphos, Pausanias describes them as similar to the ' 
wicker targets of the Persians, called Gerrha.* Those Celts called 
them thureoi, or thyreos; the Welsh still use tarian, and the French retail, 
thiros.f In the Gaelic, tearmun, protection, or defence, is applied to a 
shield, as well as targaid, from whence comes the Saxon targa and Eng- 
lish target ; but sgiath is the usual term, and is applied to a buckler from 
its supposed resemblance to a xving, denoted by the same word. The 
most ancient and most common shields of the Caledonians were, proba- 
bly, made of interwoven twigs covered with hide. In the poem of 
Cathula, a sword is said to pass through the folds of a shield; and 
young Oscar, in Duthona, is represented with one formed of woven 
reeds. J Caesar describes the Aduatici, who occupied the country about 
Douay, as having targets of wicker, covered with a tough hide; and 
Tacitus says those of the Germans were either a sort of basket work, or 
of board, painted, but seldom bound either with leather or iron,^ like 
that of the Romans. The Scots of Ulster, in the time of Spenser, car- 
ried long wicker shields, which were quite unknown among the Southern 
tribes. [| 

Lucan says some of the Celtiberi used a small shield, called Cetra, 
which the Romans afterwards adopted. I find that C'etra, in Gaelic, 
means something intervening, a term very applicable to a shield. The 
Lusitani carried shields of a peculiar form, resembling a half moon, and 
composed of the sinews of animals, so strongly interwoven, that, for 
lightness and strength, they could not be excelled; being, besides, man- 
aged with admirable skill, and whirled about so dexterously that it was 
scarcely possible to wound the person who bore them. IT They were cal- 
led Peltas, and four are represented on the shield of the Vesontes in the 
engraving. Among the Etruscans it was round, and not fixed to the 
arm, but held in the centre by the hand. 

The shield of the ancient Caledonians, according to Herodian, was 
oblong, resembling those assigned by Cluverius to the continental Celts; 
but numerous discoveries prove that this was not the only form, if it was 
at all common. Dr. Meyrick, indeed, exhibited lately to the Society of 
Antiquaries, a curious remain of a shield of this shape, but the original 
British target was circular. The figure of Britannia on Roman coins is 
represented with one of this form, and apparently of the dimensions of 
those which the Highlanders, during their independence, continued to 
use. The bards invariably speak of them as round, and they appear to 
have generally resembled those used in the last century, the poetical ex- 
pressions "dark brown," "shield of thongs," alluding to their cover- 
mg of leather. The targaid of the Scots' Highlanders was always orbi- 
cular, and formed of one or two thin pieces of wood, covered with one 
or more folds of thick leather, fastened by numerous nails, usually of 
brass, but often of iron, and sometimes of silver, according to the cir- 

* Lib. X. 19, 20. t Holmes. t Smith's Gallic Ant. 

§ Annals, ii. || View of Ireland, p. 43. TT Diodorus. 



90 CELTIC SHIELDS. 

cumstances of the party. These nails, or knobs, served to strengthen 
the targaid, and were rendered highly ornamental to it, for they were 
sometimes formed into representations of armorial badges, by means of 
the different metals. The most usual style was an arrangement in con- 
centric circles, which had a pleasing and rich effect. The one repre- 
sented in the plate is in the armory of the Tower of London, and mea- 
sures one foot nine inches in diameter. The one shown in the vignette, 
p. 185, is taken from a portrait of a Highland nobleman in the Trius, in 
the possession of Mr. Donald Currie, Regent street. The circular ar- 
rangement of the nails is singular; for a bronze target of nearly the 
same dimensions, found in Cardiganshire, and represented in Dr. Mey- 
rick's excellent history of that county, exhibits, in relief, sixteen circular 
lines of knobs, exactly resembling the nails on the shields of the High- 
landers. It is difficult to determine whether the metal buckler was an 
imitation of the wooden, or its model. Like the Scots' target, this curious 
relick was carried by a single hold, a piece of metal being placed across 
the boss, or umbo, which afforded room for the hand; and, in numerous 
cases, those parts have been discovered of iron and brass, when the 
wooden shield has been long perished. This method of wielding the 
shield was common to all Northern nations.* 

The small round target, covered with leather, common to both Scots 
and Lish, was always retained by the Highlanders, who signalized them- 
selves by its adroit management. So early as the first century, their 
ancestors excited admiration by the dexterity with which they used it in 
eluding the missiles of the Roman army. I The single hold, by which 
the targe was grasped, enabled the bearer to use it with advantage ; and 
of so much importance was it deemed, that, in the last unfortunate rebel- 
lion, it was the first care, after the battle of Preston Pans, to provide a 
large supply for the army. By receiving the points of the bayonets on 
their targets, they were able with their swords to assail the enemy, who, 
by this mode of attack, were almost defenceless. Nor was this all: the 
shield had often a spike fixed in the centre; and they were accustomed 
to carry the dirk along with it, and thus were doubly armed. "When 
within reach of the enemies' bayonets, bending their left knee, they, by 
their attitude, cover their bodies with their targets, that receive the 
thrusts of the bayonets, which they contrive to parry, while, at the same 
time, they raise their sword arm and strike their adversary. Having 
once got within the bayonets, the fate of the battle is decided in an in- 
stant, and the carnage follows; the Highlanders bringing down two 
men at a time, one with their dirk in the left hand, and another with the 
sword. These are the words of one who served in the campaign, and 
was well qualified to give an opinion. J This superiority in tactics en- 
gaged considerable attention at the time of the rebellion, and various 
plans were suggested to enable the regular troops to resist the furious 
onset of the Highlanders. 

* Keysler. I Vita Agric. t Mem. of Chev. Johnstone, p. 8G 




Leather covered Highland Target, 




ttteei Tdrget that belonged to the Earl of Mar, 1715. 



USES OF THE SHIELD. 191 

The targe was usually hung on the left shoulder; and, on a march, it 
was sometimes borne on the arm: but, except in actual war, it was not 
carried about the person. It was reckoned the greatest disgrace among 
the Germans, to quit their shield in battle. He who did so was not per- 
mitted to join in sacrifice, or attend the public assemblies; and many 
who were so unfortunate as to lose this part of their arms, hanged 
themselves, to avoid the shame of appearing under a circumstance so 
disgraceful.* The Gael did not carry this feeling so far, yet the High- 
lander never willingly parted with his targe, 

" Whose brazen studds and tough bull hide, 
Had death so often dashed aside." t 

The shield of the Celtic chiefs was frequently of metal, or, like the 
above, was covered with it. An iron shield, round, and weighing nearly 
twenty pounds, is mentioned by Pennant as preserved at Dunvegan 
Castle, in Sky. That of the Earl of Mar, in the engraving, is of steel, 
ornamented with gold. 

The shield was sometimes raised in bosses, called, in Gaelic, copan, 
which, from being hollow, could be made to emit a sound, and, by 
means of these, it served other uses of some importance among the an- 
cient Caledonians. It was either suspended on a tree, or between 
spears, near the king or commander of an army; and, when at sea, it 
hung on the mast, " the dismal sign of war," and being struck with a 
spear, was a signal for assembling the army, or preparing for immediate 
battle. Hence it was poetically named " the shield of alarms," "the 
warning boss," &.c. 

The Celts did every thing in a grave, solemn, and peculiar way. It 
seems to have been a privilege or duty of the leader of the war "to 
strike his shield at times," and the warriors appear to have done so 
occasionally, " when their rage arose," either to keep alive their ardor, 
or as an indication of their readiness and anxiety for the contest. It 
was also the practice, at least during the war, of awakening the chiefs 
by these means, I cannot, however, very well conceive how the sound 
emitted could be sufficiently loud to be heard through the whole army, 
as the expressions of the poets seem to imply, although they had been 
formed of the most sonorous materials; and such a mode of directing the 
military operations of the troops appears unnecessary, where there were 
horns for the express purpose. A people that were able to fabricate the 
other ingenious parts of their military accoutrements, could certainly 
form a shield of iron capable of producing a certain tone; but the extra- 
ordinary effect that is said to have attended the loud clang of these 
bucklers, can only be set down as a poetical embellishment. 

The shield of Cathmor, a chief of Ireland, as described in the seventh 
book of Temora, seems too artificial to be reconciled, with satisfaction, 
to the rude state of the arts at that time. It had seven bosses, each of 

* Tac. de Mor. Germ t Sir Walter Scott. 



192 USES OF THE SHIELD. 

which was ornamented with a star, representing a constellation,* and 
conveyed by its sound a particular order from the king. I should cer- 
tainly be inclined to doubt the existence of such a singular article, did 
we not know, from discoveries, that the bosses were sometimes of silver, 
or other metal, of very ingenious workmanship, and were it not possible 
to attempt a rational explanation of this traditional account. Shields of 
metal were certainly of limited use among those tribes, and were con- 
fined to the chief men, giving rise to the expression of "blue-shielded 
kings," &c. That of Fingal was evidently of this sort; and the follow- 
ing passage will throw considerable light on the manner in which this 
curious custom was observed. "On two spears hung his shield on high; 
the gleaming sign of death: that shield which he was wont to strike, by 
night, before he rushed to war. It was then his warriors knew when 
the king was to lead in strife; for, never was this buckler heard, till the 
wrath of Fingal arose." This shield, formed of metal, or covered with 
a plate of iron, was of a more simple construction than that of Cathmor. 

The term " bossy," applied to these bucklers, was expressive of the 
little convex plates with which they were ornamented. Some were, no 
doubt, fabricated with superior ingenuity, divided into several of these 
bosses, or knobs, a blow on any one of which might have been the 
method by which the commands of the General were conveyed to the 
army. This is perfectly agreeable to the symbolical and figurative man- 
ners of the Celtic race, and the method was less strange than at first 
appears. 

The seven bosses on Cathmor's shield were "the seven voices of the 
king, which his warriors received from the wind, and marked over all 
their tribes." Here we are not told that the sound of the particular 
boss which he struck was so loud as to be heard by all the army, but the 
different clans were informed by means of the warriors. In the former 
extract we also find that it was the warriors, i. e. the uasal, or those 
above the commons, only, who knew when the engagement was to com- 
mence. 

It may be further observed, that the King of Morven, on one occa- 
sion, having struck his shield in the night, many of his host were awak- 
ened, and thought it was a signal for them to get under arms, which, 
from other passages, we are led to believe it must have been; but 
receiving no further intimation, they again went to sleep. It is impossi- 
ble to believe that these shields could have sounded so loud as the Bard, 
by poetical license has given us to understand; and if the bosses of 
Cathmor's had rung with the noise of tenor bells, the army would, 
nevertheless, have been liable to misunderstand their import: but the 
king's determination being indicated by his giving a certain number of 
knocks on a particular boss, his warriors or attendants instantly retired 
and conveyed his orders to their respective clans. The shield was the 
only part of the warrior's armor appropriate for the purpose of announc- 

* The shield of Achilles was, likewise, ornamented with celestial signs. 



ORNAMENTS OF THE SHIELD. 193 

ing the resolutions of the chief; and, as that of Cathmor was different 
from Fingal's, perhaps each tribe had their peculiar signals. 

The king is defender of his people, and the shield, used as the defence 
of the body, denoted his presence, by being always suspended beside 
him. It was also used figuratively, to denote this office of defender, in 
being carried by bards in front of the army after a victory, as we find 
from a Gaelic poem which refers to the era of the Caledonian Bard. 
Those who besought assistance, also presented a shield covered with 
blood, to denote the d'eath of their friends .or defenders. 

The use of the shield as a tablet, whereon the glory and renown of 
heroes and their ancestors were set forth, is not its most ancient appro- 
priation. The origin of coat armor is, more probably, to be traced from 
the practice of displaying the intentions or determination of hostile par- 
ties. If the ancient warriors wore the skins and other parts of the 
animals they killed, or adorned themselves with the spoils of their van- 
quished enemies, they did so to inspire terror, by this means of showing 
no less their power and valor than their inclination to support their 
prowess. Nations and individuals have frequently assumed certain 
symbols and borne them on their shields or ensigns, to demonstrate to 
others the designs on which they were engaged. 

The very meaning of the word herald signifies the champion of an ar- 
my; and to declare war is still his province. The Bards were the her- 
alds of the Celtas, and they carried the shields of the chiefs, as the 
herald of succeeding ages bore the arms of his country or patron. 

The marks impressed on the leather covered targaid resembles the 
intertwining of sprigs, a favorite ornament among the Celts, being imi- 
tated in the hilts of the dirks, and introduced in their brooches and other 
ornaments. This intricate tracery, which formed, for so many ages, 
their common pattern, is seen in the rude sculptures of monumental 
stones, and appears to be derived from the mysterious woven knots of 
the branches of trees, under which the Druids concealed their know- 
ledge, and of which more shall be said hereafter. 

The Gauls, says Diodorus, had often the brazen figures of animals on 
their shields, which served both for ornament and strength; those of the 
Cimbri being bright and glittering, adorned with the figures of beasts.* 
The CeltsB were also fond of painting their shields, a practice which they 
had in most ancient times, and which, being adopted for the purpose of 
distinction, is clearly the origin of the science of heraldry, about which 
its professors and antiquaries are so ill agreed. 

At Thermopyloe, the Gauls had their shields painted in a certain man- 
ner; and the night being so dark as to prevent them from perceiving the 
figures, they were unable to recognise their own troops, and consequent- 
ly fell into complete confusion. I 

When society is rude and unsettled, it is not to be expected that indi- 

* Plutarch, vita Marii. 

t " Nee scutorum signa possentagnoscere." Pausanias, ed. Francofurti, 1583, p. 287, 

25 



194 BANNERS. 

viduals will have distinctive symbols or marks; a whole tribe adopts a 
general recognisance: but the origin of coat armor is to be traced to a 
much more remote period than the era of justs and tournaments. Dr. 
Henry very ingeniously supposes that the introduction of clothing led to 
the transfer of the figures which characterized nobility, from the body 
to the shield.* This is, probably, in some degree true, for the skin was 
stained for a mark of distinction;"]" but insignia, I apprehend, were first 
exhibited on standards and shields; and it is probable that the practice 
was, at first, connected with a religious feeling, the figures being, per- 
haps, the symbols of gods. In proof of this, we find that the ^stii car- 
ried the images of boars, to indicate the worship of the mother of the 
gods; and by this mark they were recognised and protected among their 
enemies. J The Gauls carried the images from their sacred groves to 
battle. The princes of Milan, on Hannibal's descent into Italy, took 
the ensigns of gold from the temple of Minerva, which ensigns they call- 
ed immovable, and marched with them against the Romans.^ That 
people did themselves retain something of this ancient custom; the 
eagles and other military ensigns being deposited in a sacellum with the 
tutelar gods, and, when displayed, they were placed together in the same 
rank. II 

The Celtic tribes of Britain had standards, or banners, figuratively 
termed sun-beams, in the bardic poems, each leading chief being pro- 
vided with one. That of Fingal, of which Dr. Smith, of Campbelltown, 
gives a description, was much respected as the king's epsign; but the 
flag of Diarmid, who led the right wing of the army, seems to have been 
superior. IT In the original Gaelic, the description of those of the seven 
principal chiefs is very particular, and "so inimitably beautiful, that I 
cannot imagine," says an intelligent writer, "how Mac Pherson has 
omitted it in his translation."** 

The materials of these banners it is not easy to discover. In the poem 
of" the Death of Fraoich," conjectured to be of almost equal antiquity 
with Ossian, — bratach sroil, a silken flag, is mentioned, but it is doubt- 
ful whether this be not an interpolation. It is probable that the term 
now applied to silk, formerly meant only something of a very fine tex- 
ture. 

The Caledonian chiefs had hereditary standard bearers, and the office 
was reckoned one of much honor, to which a salary in land and other 
perquisites were attached. They continued to enjoy their trust and 
emoluments, under Sir Donald Mac Donald, of Slate, in the last centu- 
ry, and were retained by some chiefs to a more recent period. The 
Celtic name, Vergasilanus, is Fear go saelan, the man with the stand 
ard. A superstitious importance was, in many cases, attached to par- 

* History of Britain, i. p. 351. 

i Isidore calls that of the Picts an infamous nobility. t Tac. de Mor. Germ 

§ Polybius, lib. ii. 1| Lipsius Milit. Roman, quoted by Gibbon. 

ff Fingal, book iv. ** Letter of the Rev. Donald Mac Leod to Dr. Blair. 




A tticotti Juniores, 



Brachali seniores Celtib. Invicti jun. Britanniciani. 




Celt(B seniores. 



Atticotti seniores. 



Exculcatores Britannia. 




Vesontes, 



Vexillatio prima Gallica, 



■Mce^l^ </'§,a//^^ ,^Mc:A^ 



Mattiarii. 



elman aru/ 'loe/i:^et^ auccdiiztM ^cat'.-n^nid^ 



COAT ARMOR. 195 

ticular banners, which may at first have arisen from the religious venera- 
tion before alluded to. In the island of Oronsay, near the tomb of Mur- 
chard Mac Duffaidh, an abbot, who died 1509, is, or was lately, a long 
pole fixed in memory of the ensign staff of his family, on the preserva- 
tion of which depended the fate of the race. Clan na Faiter held three 
lands in Bracadale, Isle of Skye, for preserving the Braotach-shi of Mac 
Leod, which, tradition asserted, was only to be produced on three oc- 
casions. Pennant, who relates this story, says the third time was to 
preserve his own life ; but we are not informed whether any other effec; 
was to follow this last display. To owe his life to its appearance, was 
matter for lasting gratitude to the "fairy flag." 

The colors of the ancient banners, or their devices, are not distinctly 
known. "The dark wreaths of Erin's standard,"* the blended colors of 
Mac Druivel's bratach, the beauteous green colored banner of the King 
of plains,! and the red and green meteors, as others are termed, do not 
give a very definite idea of their appearance. The banner of Gaul, a 
companion of Fingal, was called Briachail bhrocaill. 

The Celts did not confine their distinguishing badges to their flags; 
they had, we have seen, long before the commencement of the era of 
Christianity, depicted fhem on their shields. The Germans are cele- 
brated for the taste with which these were painted, the various colors 
being much admired. J Tacitus speaks of the Arians, one of their tribes, 
as having been distinguished by black shields, but he describes thera 
generally as ornamenting them with figures of animals, bears, bulls, 
wolves, deer, oxen, horses, dogs, and lynxes, being enumerated. The 
accompanying print, engraved and colored from the descriptions in the 
" Notitia Imperii " of Pancirollus, and the " Hieroglyphica " of Pierius, 
will show that the Gallic and German auxiliary troops bore various de- 
vices on their shields, which were certainly, to all intents and purposes, 
coat armor; and in a tasteful arrangement of colors and design the Brit 
ish legions did not yield to their continental friends. 

In the compositions of the bards we often find allusion made to paint- 
ed targets. Sometimes they are called red, at other times spotted, vari- 
ed, or chequered. § 

It is singular that the term breac, applied to the party-colored shield, 
should be given to the coat or covering which became the family recog- 
nisance of the Gael! 

In the time of Spenser, the Irish also painted their round leathern 
targets "in rude fashion." 

Some of the figures depicted on the Celtic shields bear a close resem- 
blance to those in modern coat armor We recognise the star, the gy- 
ron, the carbuncle, the lozenge, the crescent, the griffin, the pall, the 
tressure, &.c. that appear in forms as rude as in many old works on her- 
aldry. 

* Darthula. t Dargo. t Tacitus, Seneca, &c. 

§ Drs. Mac Queen, Mac Pherson, «fcc. «fec. 



196 BADGES 

In this branch of the subject the crests or badges of those nations 
come appropriately under notice. That they bore various figures on 
their helmets has already been shown: that they were for tribal and pa- 
ternal distinction, cannot be doubted. Pausanias informs us that Aris- 
tomenes bore an eagle displayed, Agamemnon a lion's head, Menelaus 
a dragon, &c. The Dacian symbol was also a dragon, and the Scy- 
thians, according to Guillim, bore a thunderbolt. The first Gauls who 
exhibited at Rome as gladiators had a fish for their crest, and were 
termed mirmillones.* 

Badges were borne on the helmet, and displayed on the shield and on 
the banner; hence modern arms often contain representations of those 
things anciently carried as marks of distinction. Bruce had three holly 
branches, which were, no doubt, borne on his ensign, as he bestowed 
them on Irvine of Drum, who was his banner bearer, and whose pos- 
terity still carry them.| 

The lion, according to Gebelin, was the general badge of the Celtic 
tribes; the national arms of Scotland are, consequently, of great an- 
tiquity. It is true that Aldred describes the animal, at the battle of the 
Standard, "ad similitudinem Draconis figuratim; " but the rude form 
might very naturally occasion the mistake, for it is well known that the 
heraldic figures had formerly extremely little resemblance to the real 
objects. The science has indeed advanced in the march of improve- 
ment, but it is not long since it was otherwise. A member of the col- 
lege of arms once visited the menagerie in the Tower, where the lions 
being pointed out to him; "Lions!" he exclaimed, " I have tricked J 
too many, not to know what like they are!" actually believing the ani- 
mals before him were another species! 

There are many Scots families who bear animals, or parts of them, 
that are not found in Britain or in Europe. It would be a very unrea- 
sonable stretch of conjecture, to fancy that, such as carry figures of 
creatures, which although long extinct, are known to have once lived 
here, are of so remote extraction; but may we not be allowed to believe 
that those charges were derived from the common practice of the ancient 
Celts? The bearing of hereditary arms, or marks, is usually derived 
from the Goths; but do those who say so, inquire from whom that people 
acquired the practice? " In Celtic Scotland," says the laborious author 
of Caledonia, "no chivalry, nor its attendant arms, were known in 
1076."^ The chivalrous spirit of the Gael was always the most striking 
trait in their character, yet if the science of heraldry, as refined by other 
nations, was not studied by the primitive race of Scots, it was retained 
by them in its original simplicity, and its nice distinctions and peculiar 
regulations were preserved with rigid exactness. 

In ancient families not man}- instances occur where the supporters are 
strange animals. The Highlanders had less fancy than others for these 

* Festus. t Sir George Mac Kenzie. 

t A term applied to arms that are drawn with a pen. § Vol. i. p. 761. 



BADGES OR CRESTS. 197 

uncouth defenders of their arms. At tournaments they let their clans- 
men stand by their shields in naked fierceness or in their native breacan. 
The painted shields, the crests, or badges, worn on the head, the 
standards, and strictly regulated patterns of their garments, were the in- 
signia by which the Celtic warrior was distinguished and his tribe recog- 
nised. Of the badges, as worn by the Scotish clans, the following is a 
list, the correctness of which, as far as it extends, may be relied on. 
For carrying these marks of distinction, after 1745, some Frasers and 
Mac Kenzies were subjected to the penalties of the disarming act. 

Badges, or Sumcheajvtas, of the Highland Clans, with the Gaelic, 
English, and botanical names. 

Buchannan, — Dearcag Monaidh, — Bilberry, — Vaccinium uliginosum, 
Cameron, — Dearcag Fithich, — Crowberry, — Empitium nigrum. 
Campbell, — Garbhag ant-sleibh, — Fir-club moss, — Lycopodium selago.* 
Chisholm, — Raineach, — Fern, — Filix. 

Colquhon, — Braoileag nan con, — Bearberry, — Arbutus uva ursi. 
Cummin, — Lus mhic Cuimein, — Cummin wood, — Cuminum, 
Druramond, — Lus mhic Righ breatuinn, — Mother of thyme, — Thymis 

sirpyllum. 
Fergusson, — Ros greine, — Little sunflower, — Helian thymum mari- 

folium. 
Forbes and Mac Aoidh,f — Bealuidh, or Bealaidh, — Broom, — Spartium 

scorparium. 
Fraser, — luthar, — Yew, — Taxus baccata. 
Grant, Mac Gregor, Mac Kinnon, and Mac Quarie,. — Giuthas, — Pine, 

— Pinus sylvestris. 
Gordon, — ladh shlat, Eitheann, — Ivy, — Hedera helix. 
Graham, — Buaidh craobh, na Laibhreas, — Laurel spurge, — Laureola 
Hay, — Uile-ice, — Misletoe, — Viscum album. 
Logan and Sinclair, — Conis, — Whin or furze, — Ulex europaeus. 
Mac Aulay and Mac Farlane, — Muileag, — Cranberry, — Oxycoccus 

palustris. 
Mac Donald, Mac Alastair, and Mac Nab, — Fraoch gorm, — Common 

heath, — Erica vulgaris. 
Mac Dougal, — Fraoch dearg, — Bell heath, — Tetralix. 
Mac Kenzie and Mac Lean, — An Cuilfhionn, — Holly, — Ilex aqui- 

folium. 
Mac Lachlan, — Faochag, na gille-fuinbrinn, — Lesser periwinkle, — 

Pervinca minor. 
Mac Leod, Gunn, and Ross, — Aiteann, — Juniper, — Juniperis communis. 
Mac JVaughtan, — Lusan Albanach, — trailing Azaha, — Azalea pro- 

cumbens. 
Mac Niel and Lamont, — Luibheann, — Dryas, — Octopetala. 

'^Many of this name assert that the Dutch myrtle, Roid, is the proper badge, 
t Mackay. 



198 WAR CRIES, OR 

Mac Pherson, Mac Intosh, Mac Duff, Mac Bean, Shaw, Farquharson, 
Mac Gillivray, Mac Queen, Clark, Davidson, Elder, and several 
others, as branches of Clan Chattan,— Lus na'n Craimsheag, nam 
Braoileag, — Red whortleberry, — Vaccinium vitis idea.* 

Menzies, — Fraoch nam Meindarach, — Menzie heath, — Menziesia 
coerulea. 

Munro, — Garbhag an gleann, na crutal a mada ruadh, — Common club 
moss, — Lycopodium clavatum. 

Murray and Sutherland, — Bealaidh Chatti, — Butcher's broom, — Ruscus 
occiliatus. 

Ogilvie, — Boglus, — Evergreen alkanet, — Anchusa. 

Oliphant, — Luachair, — Bullrush, — Scirpus. 

Robertson, — Dluith fraoch, — Fine leaved heath, — Erica cinerea. 

Rose, — Ros-mairi fiadhaich, — Wild rosemary, — Andromeda Media. 

Stewart, — Darach, — Oak, — Quercus robur. They also carry the 
Thistle, Cuaran, as the national badge. I 

Urquhart, — Lus-lethn't-samhraidh, — Wallflower, — Cheiranthus. 

The three pinion feathers of the native eagle is the distinguishing 
badge of a Highland chief, two of a chieftain, and one of a gentleman. 
This mark of nobility was well known in the time of Ossian. Had 
Prince Charles succeeded in his enterprise of 1745, it was intended to 
institute a military order of the mountain eagle. 

Connected with the means of recognition by badges and symbols, war 
CRIES, or watch words, were in use by the Gael, with whom they were 
fixed, and peculiar to districts and tribes. The remarkable shouting and 
chanting of these nations in making their attacks is referable to this 
custom, the particular exclamation forming the Welsh Ubub, the Irish 
UIlulu,J and the Caledonian Cathgairm, or Slogan. A band of warriors 
often used their own name as a war shout. One of the Cimbric nations 
in the invasion of Italy, in this manner advanced, singing Ambrones! 
Ambrones! and the Scots at the battle of the Standard, 1138, made a 
great shout, crying Albj\ni! Albani! ^ 

The names of leaders seem well adapted for incentives to battle or 
rallying words for combatants. They were used simply by some as a 
Douglas! a Douglas! a Gordon! a Gordon! or they were accompanied 
by appellations, as Hainault the valiant! Milan the Noble! Sec. on the 
continent. To some again were added expressions of incitement, as 
Avant Darnly, by the Dukes of Lennox. Rallying cries often refer- 

* To avoid trouble, the Box, from its close resemblance to the above, was occasional- 
ly substituted, whence arose a belief that it was the Mac Intosh badge. There is also 
an opinion among some Seanachies, that the Craobh Aighban, Boxus sempervirens, a 
tree said to be found in the Highlands, is the true Suiacheantas. 

t The oak not being an evergreen, the Highlanders look on it as an emblem of the 
fate of the royal house. The badge of the Pictish kingdom was Rudh, Rue, which is 
Been joined with the thistle in the collar of the Order. 

t Tlie Greek Eleleu and the scriptural Alleluia ! § Hoveden 



WATCH WORDS 199 

red to the armorial badge, as with the Counts of Flanders, who gave 
au Lion. Some, from piety, called on the name of their patron saints, 
and many, from the cause of strife, made use of particular sayings. 

Among the Scots' cries are those of Buchannan " Clareinnis," an Isl- 
and in Loch.omond. — Campbell, " Ben Cruachan, a noted mountain, in 
Argyle, — Farquharson "Cairn na cuimhne," the cairn of remembrance, 
in Strathdee. — Fraser, anciently " Morf haich," afterwards "Castle 
Downie," the family seat. — Grant, "Craig Elachaidh," the rock of 
alarm, of which there are two in Strathspey. The division of this tribe, 
called Clan Chirin, have properly " Craig Ravoch," to which they add 
"stand sure," the others saying "stand fast." — Mac Donald, " Fraoch 
eilan," the Heathy isle.* — Mac Farlane " Loch Sloidh," the Lake of the 
Host. — Mac Gregor, Ard choille,"| the high wood. — Mac Intosh, 
" Lochmoy," a lake near the se^t of the chief, in Inverness-shire. — Mac- 
kenzie, " Tulach ard," a mountain near castle Donnan, the ancient strong 
hold of the clan. — Mac Pherson, " Creag dhubh chloinn Chatain."]]; 
"Munro, Casteal Fulis na theinn," Foulis castle in danger. Forbes, 
anciently Loanach, a hill in Strathdon. Clan Rannald, "A dh' aindeoin 
cotheireadh e! " in spite of all opposition. 

Border clans, and others now reckoned Lowland, had also their slo- 
gans. The Maxwells cried, I bid ye bide ward law, i. e. the assemblage 
of the clan on the hill of meeting; and the Logans rallied to the shout 
of Lesterrick low. The Scots of Buccleuch had Ale muir. — The John- 
stone's, Light thieves all. — The Mercers of Aldie, the gryt pool. — 
Hepburn, bide me fair. — Seton, set on. — Cranston, a Henwoodie, &c. 
Certain districts had also their appropriate places of rendezvous, the 
name of which sounded an immediate alarm. The people of Glen-livet, 
in Banffshire, had Bochail, a well known hill. Where Celtic institutions 
prevailed, these names became the fixed war cry, which was not confin- 
ed to the period of mustering, but continued as the mode of recognition 
and intimation of danger, during war. 

The French had anciently "Monte joye, St. Denis," which was 
changed to " Tue! Tue! " The kings of Scotland used, as the general 
exclamation, " St. Andrew." The ancient Irish had " Farrah! Farrah!" 
which is stated to be farrach, violence, but is rather "Faire!" be 
watchful. It was customary with the Gael of that country to add the 
interjection bua, or abu, to their particular cries, which is said to be 
equivalent to business or cause, as Butler abu, the cause of Butler, 
This interpretation is made in the same ignorance of Gaelic which is 
seen in that of the motto of the Earls of Kildare, now of the Duke of 
Leinster, so often denounced by the Anglo Irish parliament as the 
watchword of rebellion. Crom-aboo is translated, I burn: it is Cuiram- 
buaidh, I shall obtain the victory. The O'Neals had Lamb dearg, abu, 

* Craig an Fhithich, the Raven's rock, is claimed as the peculiar slogan of those who 
call themselves Mac Donel. 

t Ard Challich, Chalmers. t Seal of the present chief. 



200 FIRST WEAPONS OF MANKIND 

the red hand, victorious! — O'Briens, Mac Carthys and Fitz Maurices 
Lamh-laider abu, the strong hand of victory. — O'Carrol, Shuat-abu, stir 
to victory. — O'SulIivan, Fustina stelli abu, (Fostadh steille,) stoutly 
securing victory. — Clanriccard, (the Bourks) Galriagh-abu, victory to 
the red Englishman, from the second Earl of Ulster, Richard de Burgo, 
called the red. Earls of Desmond Shannet-abu. — Mac Gilpatrick, 
Gearlaider-abu, cut strong to victory. — Mac Swein, Battalia-abu, the 
noble staff, victorious, from the battle-axe which they bear in their arms. 
— The Knight of Kerry, Farreboy-abu! the yellow-haired men — victory! 
Fleming, Teine-ar aghein-abu, fire to the bomb, — victory! — Hiffernan, 
Ceart na suas abu, right and victory from above. — Hussey, Cordereagh- 
abu, hand in hand to victory. 

War cries were anciently used by none but princes or commanders. 
They were proclaimed at tournaments by heralds, and became the mot- 
toes of families. One of the oldest in record is that of Gaul Mac Morn, 
" First to come and last to go." 

The effect of the ancient rallying shout is still strong in the north of 
Scotland. The exclamation of Cairn na cuimne! is yet sufficient to 
collect the Dee side men to the assistance of their friends in any brawl 
at a market or otherwise. A friend informed me that, passing through 
the braes of Moray, he suddenly heard the shout Craig elachie, stand 
fast! and could perceive many people hastening towards a certain point. 
On inquiry he found that a fair was held at a little distance in which 
the Grants had got involved in a quarrel with their neighbors. 

The most savage of human beings are found able to fabricate rude 
implements wherewith to procure game for subsistence, or as a means 
of protection against the attacks of ferocious animals. From the neces- 
sity also of resisting the aggressions of neighboring tribes, much atten- 
tion is paid to the formation of instruments of destruction and defence. 
As mankind advance in civilisation, their ingenuity in all manufactures, 
both necessary and ornamental, increase; but nations become sooner 
proficient in the construction of implements of war than of those used 
for any other purpose. In the armies of nations that have not emerged 
from the first stages of society, each individual is obliged to provide 
himself with such weapons as he can most readily procure, and, on 
emergencies, other articles than regular arms are converted into instru- 
ments of destruction. 

A simple, ready, and sometimes nn effective mode of assailing an 
enemy, is by means of stones thrown by hand, a method of fighting much 
practised by the Celtic nations, who had numerous bodies of troops so 
armed. Many figures of these people in Roman sculpture show the 
warriors carrying a number of stones in the loose folds of their ample 
cloaks, and Ammianus bears record to their violent and destructive as- 
saults.* From Tacitus it appears the Germans sometimes used leaden 

* Montfaucon, torn. iv. pi. 52, &c. To drop stones on besiegers has been often 
oractised. 



SLINGS.— CLUBS. 201 

balls as missiles.* Round stones in shape like an egg, and some larger 
and of the same globular form, have been found in France, which it is 
supposed were used for throwing by the early inhabitants."]" 

The Irish, until comparatively recent times, continued this primitive 
mode of fighting, at which Cambrensis says they were extremely dex- 
terous. 

Besides projecting stones by hand, slings were also used. The in- 
habitants of the Balearic isles, who were of Celtic origin, were the most 
famous slingers of antiquity, and are believed to have acquired their 
name l>om this celebrity. They carried three slings, one being tied 
round the head, another fastened about the middle, and one held in the 
nand. They were excellent marksmen, and could throw stones of three 
pounds weight to a great distance. J The sling represented in the fig- 
ures of ancient sculpture is plaited in the middle, where it is considera- 
bly thicker than at each end. Cliar, now applied to a brave man, is an 
ancient Gaelic term for a sling, ^ but Tabhal is the word now used. At 
the battle of Largs, in 1263, the Scots commenced a furious attack with 
stones and darts. The British tribes used a sling with a wooden shaft, 
like those used afterwards by the Saxons, which was called crann tab- 
huil, the stafF-sIing. — The bas relief at the commencement of Chapter 
first, composed from figures on Trajan's column, shows the Celtic throw- 
ers of stones, both by hand and sling. 

A CLUB is another simple implement of destruction. In cases of ne 
cessity, combatants will avail themselves of any thing that can be con- 
verted into arms, and, at all times, those who can find nothing better will 
provide themselves with a good stick. Three or four hundred of the 
king's army went to the battle of Edgehill with nothing but a cudgel. || 
When the Highlanders joined Prince Charles, when they fought at 
Gladsmuir and even afterwards, many had no better weapon, but 

" With heavy cudgels of good oak, 
They vowed to kill at every stroke." 

The Gauls, long after their subjugation, continued to fight with this 
weapon, and on various remains of Roman architecture, figures of these 
nations are seen wielding with vigorous arms, heavy knotted cudgels. IT 
The TEstii, one of their tribes, had scarcely any arms of iron, but chiefly 
fought with clubs, which were hardened by being burned.** From dis- 
coveries made in France they are found to have been short and thick, 
and sometimes pointed with metal. The club of the old Britons here 
represented was four-edged, of massy thickness at the end, and was call- 
ed Cat.ft The Jedvvorth staff, pointed with iron, which Major describes, 
was a serviceable weapon to the hardy inhabitants of that border town. JJ 



* Annals, v. t Montfaucon. t Diod. Sic. v. 

§ Urnigh Ossian, a poem. || Clarendon, ii, p. 40, ed. Oxford. 

IT Montfaucon, pi. 55, 56, &c. A club is by no means a contemptible weapon 
We even read of desperate fighting with teeth and nails ! Beloe's Htsrodotus, iv. 153 
** Tacitus Annals. tt Dr. Meyrick. U Lib. v. © 3 

26 



302 



CELTS. 





It would appear from Tacitas, that the Catti, besides their otiier arms 
carried certain iron instruments. 

The arms of the ancient Gauls, and of the British tribes, have been 
found deposited in the grave with the mouldering relics of their original 
owner, or dug from the site of the Celtic strong holds. They are often 
discovered to reward the laborious researches of the zealous antiquary, 
and are not unfrequently turned up by the plough or spade of the indus- 
trious husbandman. 

The first implements of untutored man are formed of stone, a material 
which is often moulded into suitable form with the nicest care. 

The simple, and sometimes rude, but frequently ingeniously fabricated 
weapons of the aboriginal Celt, are found in all those countries which 
he inhabited; and along with those formed of stone are occasionally dis- 
covered articles of bone, in some cases perforated, and evidently adapted 
for purposes of war.* 

A singular implement frequently met with throughout Britain and Ire- 
land, has attracted the particular attention of antiquaries, who have been 
at some loss to conceive the use for which these mysterious articles were 
intended. They are not exclusively formed of stone, but are also found 
of brass, or mixed metal; the presumption, however must be, that the 
former are most ancient, although the manufacture may not have been 
given up after the working of metal became generally practised. The 
name of Celts, by which they are known, has itself excited many con- 
jectures. It is supposed to have been adopted by antiquaries for want 
of any more appropriate term; but is, probably, according to Whita- 
ker, the British word Celt, which signifies a flint stone. They are gen- 
erally about five inches long and one or more broad, are sometimes very 
plain, and in many instances are formed with much ingenuity. The 
most simple are merely tapered towards each end, but others are varied 
in shape, and nicely perforated for the insertion of a handle, which was 
perhaps secured by small wedges. 

It has been imagined that Celts were used in the Druidic sacrifices; 
and it has been observed from Livy, that even the Romans, in early 
ages, killed their victims with flint stones. "j" 

It has also been said that they were used as implements of carpentry, 
which is not only probable, but some positive proof of the fact has been 

* Hoare's Ancient Wiltshire ; Archseologia, «&:.c. 

t Lib. xxiv, Ap. the Rev. J. Dow in Trans, of the Ant. of Scotland, ii. 199. 




1. 2, 3, Stone Hammers. 4, Plinl Jtroie IJcads. 5, Stene Ace or Cilt. 



AXES. 203 

discovered. A writer in the " Archoeologia," on this subject, has ac- 
companied his remarks with representations of a Celt fixed in the han- 
dle when employed for the different uses of an axe, a chisel, and an 
adze.* Their appropriation for domestic purposes is perfectly consistent 
with their use in battle. With them the natives must have cut down the 
trees of the forest, on the trunks of which the marks are often discerni- 
ble, for no other description of axe has ever been discovered. In the 
vignet.te at the end of Chapter III, some of these implements are repre- 
sented, in the form in which they were evidently used by the ancient 
wood-hewers and carpenters. The one on the left side shows the method 
by which the most simple form, both in stone and metal, was used. Be- 
sides the ligature, a slight ridge may be observed on some, apparently to 
prevent their being forced out of their proper position. 

In the more improved manufacture of metal Celts, which are common 
to North and South Britain, they are formed with a hollow for the in- 
sertion of the handle, and, in several instances, part of the wood has 
been found remaining in the socket. "f From this circumstance, and 
their peculiar formation, it has been inferred that the shaft and blade 
were in a line, making, as it were, a bludgeon; "j" but was it not possible 
for the Celtic warrior to find boughs of trees bent naturally to a right 
angle, or that could be readily made so and adopted as an efficient handle? 

The lower figure on the dexter side of the trophy, forming the vignette 
to this Chapter, represents the method in which it is believed to have 
been fixed when used as an axe. The metal Celts are usually provided 
with a ring, as represented in the engraving, supposed to have been for 
the purpose of suspending them by the side or over the shoulder. They 
are often found with a mould, or case, into which they exactly fit, which 
was either adopted for their preservation, the mould in which they were 
formed, or itself adapted for service. It has, however, been observed 
that all brazen instruments, from their value, were kept in cases of wood 
lined with cloth. Celts have also, notunfrequently, a ring attached, with 
sometimes a bit of jet or other ornament appended. 

In some tumuli that were opened near the Cree, in the parish of Mon- 
igaff*, where, according to tradition, the Picts and Romans had fought a 
severe battle, several stone Celts were found. One was in the form of 
a hatchet, and resembles a pavior's hammer in the back part, like the one 
represented in the engraving, and another was broad and flat, both hav- 
ing an aperture for the shaft. J It may be observed that not only are 
many of these implements formed at one end like the above, but hammers 
are often found buried with the primitive inhabitants of these Islands. 
The Gauls consigned similar articles to the graves of their relatives, and 
in several sculptures they are represented carrying them in their hands. ^ 

There is no very positive authority to believe that the axe was a weap- 



* Vol. xix. t Whitaker's Hist, of Manchester, iSsc. 

t Stat. Ace. vii. GO, xvi. 227, xviii. 186, &c. See also Gordon's Itin. Septentrionale. 
Archffiologia. xvii. 120, &c. § See the plate. 



204 



LOCHABER AXE. 



on in common use, either by the Continental or British Celts, but Mar 
cellinus speaks of it as carried by the former, and in 538 the Frankf^ 
used it. By the Welsh, when formed of flint, it was called Bvvyelt-arv. 
In a Teutonic romance of the eighth century, it is said that after the 
javelins had been thrown, " they thrust together resounding stone axes." 
The word used for these is stain bort, from stein, a stone, and barte, an 
axe, and it is thought to be the only name by which they are recorded.* 

Hengist, the Saxon, calls a sword an axe.t Among the Danes, who 
used it double, it was called bye, and when fixed to a long statT, it is said 
to have acquired the name of all bard, or cleave all. 

This weapon, when used by the Highlanders, was known as the Loch- 
aber axe, called, in Gaelic, tuagh-chatha. The heavy armed soldier in 
Scotland and Ireland carried it, until very lately, from whom it was call- 
ed the Galloglach axe. It was usually mounted on a staff about five 
feet long, but another sort was wielded with one hand, the thumb being 
extended along the shaft, and so forcibly that no mail could resist it. In 
the Tower of London were formerly shown some weapons called Locha- 
ber axes; but since the recent excellent arrangements of Dr. Meyrick, 
it appears they were English arms, no real Lochaber axes being in the 
armory. They are, indeed, unaccountably rare. One, in this gentle- 
man's admirable collection, is of a ruder form than the one here repre- 
sented. 




The figure on the right is from the axes formerly borne by the town 
guard of Edinburgh, that in the middle from those of old Aberdeen, and 
the other is an ancient form of the Highland tuagh. 




* A reprint by Dr. Jamieson in a work on Norlhern Antiquities. Edinb. Journal ol 
Science, Nov. 1324. t Jamieson's Remarks on the Pictish language. 



SPEARS. 205 

Two soldiers of the Black watch fought with this weapon before King 
George, so late as 1743. 

The SPEAR of the Gauls was called Saunia. It is described as being 
pointed with iron, a cubit or more in length, and little less than two 
hands in breadth. This weapon was sometimes straight, and sometimes 
barbed or bent backwards, so that it not only cut the flesh, but broke it, 
tearing and rending it in a shocking manner.* 

Tacitus says the German spear was very long, but was not often used, 
a light missile javelin, with a short, narrow, but sharp head, being pre- 
ferred, of which the horsemen carried one, and the infantry two or more. 
With these they fought either hand to hand, or farther apart, for they 
were accustomed to throw them to an incredible distance, with the 
surest aim. The Celtiberians had their javelins formed of iron, with 
broad barbed points The Lusitani, who used the same weapon, are 
celebrated for the vigor and precision with which they threw it.* 

The Celtic race appear to have been remarkably dexterous in the 
management of their airm thilgidh, or missiles. The Romans were ex- 
cessively annoyed by these weapons, which were sometimes showered 
upon them in volleys as thick as a flight of arrows. The vigorous arms 
of the Gauls propelled their lances with so much force, as often to pierce 
through the shield and transfix them in the body. Caesar mentions an 
instance of the strength with which they were discharged, where a 
Roman soldier had one driven fairly through both thighs ! 

A Gallic spear, or dart, was called Lankia,"]" from which the old 
Gaelic, lann, a pike, and the English lance are derived. The ggesum, 
gaison, or gesa, was another missile weapon of the Gauls; J and, in the 
language of their Scotish descendants, the word gais is still retained. 
Servius informs us that strong and valiant men, from carrying this sort 
of spear, were called gsesi. Among the Highlanders, gaisgeach signi- 
fies a valiant man, or hero, and guasdewr, among the Cumri of Wales, 
has the same meaning. Livy describes the Gauls as armed with two 
goesi. The Celtic heroes of Caledonia also carried two.§ 

The gath, or cath, of the Gael signifies a dart or lance. The cateia 
of the Gauls was a sort of weapon which commentators do not appear 
to have understood. Cath-tei, in Gaelic, is literally a fiery dart, with 
which Dr. Mac Pherson remarks that Cuchullin is said to have unfor- 
tunately killed his friend Ferda. It was " kindled into a devouring 
flame by the strength of wind," i. e. the blacksmith's bellows, the terms 
gath builg and craosach dhearg, being of the same import as the jacu- 
lum fervefactum of Caesar, [I which were thrown against the Romans in 
an attack on the camp of Cicero. The old Highlanders used a sort of 
barbed dart, which they called guain.lT 

* Diodonis. t Ibid. Lancea, a Spanish lance. t Caesar, iii. c. 4 

§ Cuchullin was so armed ; and Naos, " looked on his two spears," &c. 

II Dissertations, p. 153. 

IT Kennedy, in the H. Society's Rep. on Ossian's Poems, p. 125. 



206 



SPEARS. 



The Caledonians and Meatoe had a short spear, provided with a hoi 
low ball of brass, like an apple, attached to the end of the shaft, which 
contained pebbles, or bits of metal, that were intended, by their rattling 
noise, to frighten the horses and alarm the riders,* In 1547, a French- 
man describes the Scots' soldiers as carrying a singular weapon, for 
the same purpose. " Tenoient a la main un epouvantail ridicule pour 
affrayer les chevaux. C'etoit une sonette attache a un baton de trois 
aunes de long, avec quoi ils faisoient grand bruit." Dr. Mac Pherson 
spoke with some old Highlanders, who had, in their youth, seen spears, 
having a ball at the end, resembling the boss of a shield, and termed 
cnapstarra. Those weapons were called triniframma, and were the fra- 
mea of the Germans, mentioned by Tacitus. 

The Celts generally carried the spear of a considerable length. Brit- 
annia is represented on Roman coins with one of this description. The 
Welsh, according to Cambrensis, bore lances of great length; but those 
of the Scots were far longer. In the reign of James III., an act was 
passed, "that a' speares be sex elnes in length." At this time, the 
Annan and Liddisdale men carried them two ells longer than the rest 
of their countrymen. "j" 

The Scotish spearmen were, like the Macedonian phalanx, a most 
formidable body. On level ground, where they could act with effect, 
their irresistible charge was sufficient to clear the field of the enemy. 




The lance of the British tribes was usually pointed with brass or cop- 
per. The broad-edged form was called Llavnawr, and is that which the 
Irish term the Lagean, from which the people of Leinster are said to 
have acquired the name of Lagenians. The spear is called shieag by 
the Gael, and it had formerly a thong attached, to enable them to recov- 
er it when thrown at the enemy. Gisarming, from the French gisarme, 
was formerly applied by the Scots to the spear. The short dart, appa- 
rently about three and a half feet long, used by the Gauls in hunting. 



Dio. NicBBus. 



t Sir W. Scott. 



SWORDS 207 

was called venabulum, which lexicographers translate a boar's spear. 
The Celtic spears were of various forms, and used for different purposes. 
Gildas describes the Caledonians as pulling the Roman soldiers off the 
praetentures with a sort of long hooked spears. The two lateral weap- 
ons in the preceding cut are seen in a representation of Porevith, the 
German God of Spoil.* The upper figure is the venabulum. The second 
is the saunia, according to Cluverius; Lenoir, more agreeable to its 
description, has the barbs turned back. The two others are from dis- 
coveries in Britain,! the next is the Llavnawr, and the last the gwaefon 
of the Welsh. 

In the vignette at the commencement of this chapter, beginning at the 
weapon next to the Celt, or axe, all are taken from the plates in the 
work of that laborious antiquary, Wolfgang, already quoted. He says, 
the first singular weapon was carried by the Gallic horsemen in Illyri- 
cum; the one above it is the gcesurn; the next is hasta uncata golhica, 
and the one close to the helmet he calls gesa. The spear on the left 
side of the helmet he assigns to the Quadi, and that next to it is given as 
in use by both Gauls and Goths. The Tragula Gallica is the next, and 
a murderous weapon borne by the Vandals follows. The trident he 
denominates the Gallic fork. 

The Caledonians of former ages paid great attention to the exercise 
of the spear, or the thrusting of the blade. J We hear of Conloch, who 
was so famous for handling the javelin, that it is yet said of a good 
marksman, "he is unerring as the arm of Conloch." The halbert car- 
ried by the sergeants in infantry regiments, is derived from the Scots; 
but the Highlanders have long discontinued its use. In 1745, when ne- 
cessity compelled them to adopt any sort of arms. Captain Mac Gregor, 
a son of Rob Roy, serving under the Duke of Perth, armed his compa 
ny with blades of scythes, &c. sharpened, and fixed on poles seven or 
eight feet long; and, rude as these weapons were, they did murderous 
execution, for both horses and men were cut in two by them. 

We find frequent mention by the bards, of " ashen " and "aspen " 
spears. In the Romance before quoted, it is said "they first let ashen 
spears fly with such rapid force, that they stuck in the shields, "§ One 
Peter Gairden, a native of Brae Mar, who died in 1775, at the age of 
one hundred and thirty-two, recollected having been sent into the woods 
to cut straight poles for spear shafts. 

A Gallic dart was long the only reward for valor among the Romans, 
A soldier that had wounded an enemy received one of these weapons 
from the consul. 1| 

The SWORD appears to have been a common weapon of the Celtic na- 
tions. The Gallo-Grecians, who were attacked by Manlius, had no other 
arms.TT It was of great length and breadth, double-edged, with a very 

* Montfaucon, &c. t ArchsBologia. 

t Lann-saich, a pike-man, literally a blade thruster. § See p. 304. 

II Polybius. U Livy, xxxviii. 21, 



208 SWORDS. 

obtuse point. Diodorus says the swords of the Gauls were as big as the 
saunians or spears of other nations. Being without a point, they were 
adapted for slashing with the edges, and not for thrusting, its name be- 
ing expressive of its form and use. The Celts called their sword patha, 
or spada, which, in Gaelic, signifies to beat down or flatten. This word 
is not now used for a sword, but spad is applied to any implement, or 
broad piece of metal, and is the origin of the English spade, for which 
it is the only name. The Highlanders sometimes call a sword lann, 
literally a blade.* Claidheamh is the proper name, and claoidh is to 
vanquish. Varro derives the Roman gladius from clades, slaughter: the 
afiinity of the Gaelic and Latin is apparent. 

The British Celts used the same long, blunt, two-edged sword. They 
have been discovered in barrows, and a figure dug up after the fire of 
London carried one; but the Northern tribes seem to have been most 
partial to it. The usual length appears to be about two feet six inches, 
but they are often much shorter. A common form of this weapon among 
the Britons of the South, was with a swell or widening in the middle. 
The Irish also had them both curved and straight. 



The ancient British and L-ish swords were generally composed of 
brass, bronze, or copper; but it has been erroneously supposed that all 
arms found of these materials are Celtic, from a belief that the use of 
iron was known to the Romans only. The first metal employed by 
mankind in the formation of arms, is brass, copper, or a mixture of these 
with lead. These seem to have been the favorite metals of the Celts, 
who had an art of rendering them perfectly hard. Considerable quan- 
tities of brass and copper were imported by the Britons; but iron mines 
were worked to a certain extent before the arrival of the Romans. From 
its scarcity, and the difficulty of working this metal, it was very valua- 
ble; but the natives certainly fabricated arms of it. Herodian attests 
this fact; and at Lochenlour, in Glenturret, are to be seen the ruins of 
houses, and heaps of ashes, the apparent remains of a Caledonian iron- 
work. The people believe it to be the place where the swords of the 
Fingalians were made, and old poems mention this glen as the residence 
of the workmen. 

The Gallic sword is represented as very insufficiently tempered, being 
bent and twisted afler every stroke, so that it was sometimes necessary 
for the warriors to set their feet on the blade, in order to make it 
straight.! The Celtiberians were, however, famous for the manner in 

* The Dacian sword was formed like a sabre, the curve reversed. The Saxons and 
Danes called the sword saex, and it resembled a scythe, which in Saxony is still de- 
nominated sais. 

t Livy. This is, perhaps, exaggerated ; the swords of the Romans were sometimes 
bent by the resistance of the enemies' armor. Amm. Mar. 



SWORDS. _ 209 

which they tempered their swords. This excellence was produced by 
burying the iron, and allowing it to remain in ihe earth until the light and 
impure parts were consumed, when the remainder, thus improved, wa? 
fit for the hands of the armorer. Weapons fabricated from iron prepar- 
ed in this manner, cut so keenly, that neither shield, helmet nor bone, 
could resist them.* Those people are said to have carried two swords, 
which enabled "the horsemen, when they had routed the enemy, to 
alight, and fight with the foot to admiration." This seems to show that 
one was a dagger or pugio, adapted for thrusting or cutting, which Po- 
lybius tells us they used in the battle of Cannse. It was common to the 
Lusitani, and its excellence recommended it to Roman adoption.! Some 
of the Germans also had short swords; but they in general appear to 
have preferred the missive javelin. 

By the ancient Welsh laws, a sword, a spear, and a bow with twelve 
arrows, were the three legal weapons. If the former had a bright hilt, 
its price was twenty-four pence; if brittle-edged, sixteen pence, and if it 
was round hiked it cost but twelve penc^. Dr. Meyrick supposes the 
hilts were formed of horn. In several parts of France, round flint 
stones, pierced in the centre, are found, and are believed by antiquaries 
to have been sword pommels. 

Boemus remarks that the old Gauls, like the Irish, used swords a full 
hand broad. It has been shown that the original name for these weap- 
ons was descriptive of their breadth, which exceeded that of spear heads, 
and was particularly noticed by the ancients. A strong man among the 
Caledonians was indicated by the size of his sword. Fraoch, a cele- 
brated hero, is represented as carrying one as wide as the plank of a 
ship. 

This unwieldy weapon was not adapted for a close encounter; but the 
athletic swordsman could, at a requisite distance, strike with tremendous 
force; he therefore stepped back, if practicable, when aiming a blow. 
Polybius observes, that the length of the Gallic swords, and the blunt- 
ness of their points, proved very disadvantageous when they contended 
with the Romans at Cannae and Telamon. It was the long swords of 
the brave Caledonians which rendered them unable to oppose the Tun- 
grian and Batavian cohorts, who fought with the short Roman gladius in 
the battle of the Grampians. The Franks also, who long retained the 
sword of their ancestors, were frequently encumbered by its length. J 
The excessive dimensions of this weapon of the Highlanders have been 
reduced, but the term broad sword is still an appropriate designation. 
It has ever been a favorite weapon of the Scots, and for 1 800 years, 
since the desperate conflict at the Grampian Hill, its exercise has been 
sedulously practised, and its dexterous management in the field of strife 
nas been the means of ensuring many a brilliant victory. The Scotish 
swordsmen were only inferior to the phalanx of spearmen. The one 

* Diodorus. t Gibbon. t Luitprand 

27 



210 SWORDS. 

represented in p. 213 is in my possession, and is a specimen of the old 
manufacture; it is marked on each side with four busts, wearing eastern 
crowns, which may have an allusion to the arms of Fraser, by one of 
which clan it is known to have been used at Culloden. It is two feet 
eight inches long in the blade, and one inch and a quarter wide. One 
in the Tower armory is three feet long, and one inch and three quarters 
broad. 

William the Lion, who came to the thrdne in 1166, ordained the 
sword, dagger, and knife, to be the proper arms of his subjects. The 
troops of Sir William Wallace were chiefly armed with the claidheamh- 
more, to which the Gael have alwa; i been so partial. A French author, 
in 1547, describes the Scots as armed with a sword that was '"very 
large and marvellously cutting." 

The sword of the Gauls and Britons is believed to have been suspend- 
ed across the right thigh by a chain of iron or brass; a position that must 
have been very awkward and inconvenient. The description may be 
misunderstood.* We find figyres of these nations, representing the 
belt, or chain, passing over the right shoulder, as now worn; and Pro- 
copius describes the Roman auxiliaries, among whom the Celts were no 
inconsiderable number, as carrying their swords on the left side. It was 
customary with the Highlanders, to hold the sword in their hands until 
they had occasion to use them, when they threw down the scabbard. 

The scabbards seem to have been anciently formed of wood, remains 
of which have sometimes been found adhering to the sword, deposited in 
the grave of the Celtic warrior. Those of leather, which Henry the 
Minstrel calls the hose, were marked with various figures, in manner of 
the targets, Slc. before described. 

Sir Richard Hoare does not find that the sword of the ancient Briton 
was provided with a guard; but, from Dr. Smith's description, it appears 
to have been known to the old Caledonians. The form of the basket hilt 
now usually worn, is not perhaps of great antiquity. It was only seen 
among the better sort, for those of the common people were rude and 
clumsy. The sword which belonged to Gordon of Bucky, who assisted 
at the slaughter of the " bonnie Earl of Murray," is supposed to be the 
most ancient specimen of this sort: but there is reason to believe that the 
basket hilt is of much greater antiquity, and that the Gael had attained 
considerable perfection in the manufacture. Isla, one of the Hebudaj, 
was celebrated for the fabrication of sword hilts. 

The Gael latterly received a great part of their arms from the Conti- 
nent, and the Spanish blades were particularly esteemed. Their broad- 
swords were always well tempered, but they appear to have been unable 
to produce such excellent weapons as those fabricated abroad. Andrea 
Feiara, who is believed to have lived in Banff, following with much 
success the manufacture of broadswords, is accused of obstinately resist- 

* '• In dextro femore oblique dependentes." Diodorus. 



BROAD SWORD EXERCISE. 211 

ing all attempts to obtain possession of his peculiar mode of tempering 
blades. This story is current among the Highlanders, but it has been 
questioned whether Andrea was ever in Scotland. This point may be 
left unsettled without much regret. Whether manufactured in Scotland, 
or imported, the Ferara broadswords were highly esteemed, and by no 
means uncommon in the olden time. 

The boys of the Highlanders were trained, from an early age, to 
cudgel playing, that they might become expert at the broadsword exer- 
cise. Their whole time is said to have been so occupied; and, besides 
training at home, there was a sort of gymnasium in Badenoch, to which 
the youth resorted. Many anecdotes might be recited, to show the ex- 
pertness of the Gael in handling the sword. John Campbell, a soldier 
in the Black Watch, killed nine men with it at Fontenoy, and, on attack- 
ing the tenth, his left arm was unfortunately carried off by a cannon ball. 
Donald Mac Leod, who was so remarkable for his robust frame and lon- 
gevity, having entered the service of King William, and enjoyed, for 
many years, a pension from George HI., relates many brilliant anecdotes 
of his countrymen's prowess. He fought various single combats, both at 
home and abroad. On one occasion, he cut off part of the calf of a Ger- 
man's leg, and wounded him in the sword arm, to show that he had it in his 
power to take his life. In the rebellion of 1715, he accepted a challenge 
from a Captain Mac Donald, a celebrated fencer in the Earl of Mar's 
service, who had openly defied the whole royal army. In this trial of 
skill, Mac Leod cut off the other's purse, and asked him if he wanted 
any thing else taken off? on which Mac Donald gave up the contest, 
acknowledging his inferiority, and left the victor his purse as a trophy. 
The Earl, who was himself an excellent swordsman and kept a band of 
clever fellows about him, sent ten guineas to Mac Leod; and his gen- 
eral, Argyle, added as much. One of the Robertsons, of Lude, cut off 
the two buttons of his antagonist's shirt collar, as a friendly hint that his 
head was likely to follow. Gillies Mac Bane, at Culloden, perceiving 
the Campbells attacking the Highland army, by means of the breach 
which they had made in an old wall, opposed them as they entered the 
gap, and, ere he fell, overpowered by the number of his enemies, his 
claymore had laid fourteen of them dead at his feet. At Preston Fans, 
where the devoted rebels obtained their first victory, the slain all fell by 
the sword. On this occasion, prodigies of valor were performed. A 
boy about fourteen years of age was presented to the Prince, as one who 
had killed, or brought to the ground, no fewer than fourteen ! 

Polyaenus says that the Gauls always struck at the head with their 
swords. It was by slashing at the heads of the horses that the High- 
landers were able so effectually to repulse and defeat the most numerous 
bodies of cavalry. They also struck at the heads of the infantry; and, 
to guard against the consequence of this mode of attack, it was repre- 
sented as necessary for all to wear a skull cap, or horse shoe under their 
hat. The onset of the Highlanders, in the language of Johnstone, was 



2J2 BROAD SWORD EXERCISE. 

'■' so terrible that the best troops in Europe would with difficulty sustain 
the first shock of it; and if the swords of the Highlanders once came in 
contact with them, their defeat was inevitable." Mac Pherson, of Clu- 
ny, not aware that the cavalry of the royal army at Falkirk wore head 
pieces of iron, declared, with astonishment, that he never met with 
skulls so hard as those of the Dragoons, for he had struck at them until 
he was tired, and was scarce able to break one! 

The management of the broadsword, or single stick, which it closely 
resembles, as now taught, may be comprehended in thirty-one lessons. 
The old Highland exercise was not less remarkable for simplicity and 
elegance, than utility. By seven cuts, oblique, horizontal, and diagonal, 
and one guard, in which the sword is held vibrating, as a pendulum, 
ready to turn aside the thrusts of an enemy, the adversary was assailed 
and the person effectually protected. The salute of the Celtic swords- 
man was peculiarly graceful. The importance of this exercise was 
evinced by enabling undisciplined troops to make head against numerous 
armies, and even defeat skilful veterans. Its utility in the present day, 
to officers of both army and navy, is apparent, and many occasions may 
arise to show the advantage of knowing properly how to use a stick. 
With this simple weapon, a skilful player can defend himself with ease 
from the simultaneous attacks of three or four, and put to defiance the 
efforts of the most renowned pugilists. It is to be regretted that this de- 
sirable accomplishment and healthy exercise is now so little attended to. 

A favorite amusement of the Highlanders was the sword dance, which 
was performed with a great degree of grace and agility, being usually 
introduced as a finale to a ball, in manner of the " bob at the bolster" 
of the Low lands, and the country bumpkin of England. The diversions 
of most ancient nations were of a military cast. Olaus Magnus de- 
scribes a dance of this sort among the people of the North. It was also 
practised by the Saxons, even after the Conquest, the dancers being 
called joculators, as if they were fighting in jest, from which arose the 
old Scots word, jungleurs, and the modern English jugglers. A sort 
of sword dance was usual in some parts of England, at no remote period, 
but it was performed in a manner different from the Scots. 

Mac Pherson, "the Rob Roy of the North," who was executed at 
Banff, 16th Nov. 1700, and whose history Sir Walter Scott intended to 
interweave in a romance, embellishing and amplifying its romantic inci- 
dents by his fertile imagination, possessed a trusty claymore of Ferara's 
manufacture. Before he left the prison, anxious to commit this weapon 
to the hands of one qualified to use it, he bequeathed it to Provost Scott, 
who left it to his son-in-law. Provost Mark. This gentleman fulfilled 
the wish of poor Mac Pherson, by giving it to Mr. John Turner, his 
near relation, a good swordsman; after whose death, it remained ia 
possession of his widow for" some time: but an English gentleman ex- 
pressing a desire to obtain a broadsword. Captain Robertson applied to 
Mrs. Turner for that of Mac Pherson, which was readily presented, and 



TWO-HANDED SWORD. 



213 



thus, about fifty years since, is said to have terminated the history of 
the genuine blade, which was never afterwards heard of. A long two- 
handed sword is preserved at Duff house, the seat of the Earl of Fife, in 
the neighborhood of Banff, which belonged to this celebrated Kern. 
There is also his target, on which is a deep indentation from a bullet. 
The intention of Sir Walter, to found one of his amusing productions on 
the events of Mac Pherson's life, and the popularity of his memory in 
the Northern counties, induced the author to make particular inquiries 
concerning these relics, and the noble Earl, in whose armory they now 
remain, with characteristic condescension, supplied these details. For 
the other particulars he is indebted to a much esteemed friend, who pro- 
cured the information from Mrs. Mac Hardy, an intelligent old lady, 
the daughter of Mr. Turner. 

The two-handed sword was a favorite weapon of the Highlanders, and 
it is usually represented on the tombstones of the old Celtic heroes 
Dr. Meyrick says the Spathae were two-handed, and were called Ched- 
dyv-hirdeuddwrn by the Britons, and Dolairaghin by the Irish. The 
opinion of this writer is always deserving of high respect. On the 
present occasion, he confesses that none of them have ever, to his 
knowledge, been discovered. 

It is not probable that the swords of the Caledonians who opposed 
Agricola, although long and broad, were wielded with both hands, for 
their left was sufficiently occupied in the dexterous management of their 
little shield. A two-handed sword preserved at Talisker, in the Isle of 




Sky, measures three feet seven inches in length. The one here repre- 
sented is three feet six inches long in the blade, eleven inches in the 
hilt, and two and one third inches broad. It is in possession of Mr. 
Donald Mac Pherson, of Pimlico, and belonged to his ancestor, JMac 
Pherson of Crathy, parish of Laggan, Inverness-shire. It is said to 
have been six hundred years in the family; and is represented by tradi- 
tion as the identical weapon borne by one of the victorious combatants 
at the battle of Perth. The last time it was used in war was in 1594, 
when the Earls of Huntly and Errol, with inferior numbers, encountered 
and overthrew the Earl of Argyle at the burn of Altacholihan, in Glen- 
livat. Some years ago, the remains of silk and silver lace were attached 
to the hilt. 

In those times, when the Highlanders went armed both "to kirk and 



214 CEARNACH, OR KERN. 

market," the gentlemen took their gille-more, or sword-bearer, along 
with them. Even the clergymen armed themselves, in compliance with 
the national custom. The Rev. Donald Mac Leod, of Sky, who lived 
about forty years ago, remembered his great-grandfather, who was also 
a clergyman, going to church with his two-handed sword by his side; 
and his servant, who walked behind, with his bow and case of arrows. 
A Gaelic song alludes to this practice, where it is said: 

" Tha claidheamh air Join san't searmoin." 
John is girt with his sword at sermon. 

A vivid picture of a contention with the two-handed sword is given in 
the description of the judicial combat between the clans Chattan and 
Dhai, on the north inch of Perth, from the pen of Sir Walter Scott, who 
has repeated the subject in " Anne of Geierstein." In the British Mu- 
seum is a black letter work entitled, " La noble Science des jouers de 
Spee," printed at Danvers, in 1538, which contains instructions for the 
exercise of this sword. It is embellished with twenty-two wood-cuts, 
representing the different guards and positions. From these, it appears 
the weapon was often rested with the point on the ground, the hands not 
being always confined to the hilt or handle, but occasionally grasped the 
blade itself 

Allusion has been made to the troops called Cathern,* Cearnach, or 
Kern. We learn from Vegetius, that Caterna, or Caterva, was the name 
of a legion among the Gauls. Cath, a battle, turbha, a multitude, is 
the Gaelic etymology of this word. The kaderne of the Welsh and 
cathern of the Gael, signify fighting men, an appellation that became 
known in the Low Country as a term of reproach, from the activity and 
success of these men in foraying, repelling aggression, and making 
reprisals on their Saxon neighbors. By the dexterity of their military 
exploits, the young men were obliged to prove themselves worthy the 
honor of being enrolled in this company of national guards. 

The Kern were light armed, and excelled in the desultory manner of 
fighting, characteristic of the Gael; hence they acquired the appellation 
Cathern na choille, the fighting men of the woods. The Kern, whom 
Spenser reckoned the proper Irish military, although accounted inferior 
to the Galloglach, and stigmatized as "the dross and scum of the coun- 
try," were, from their renown, best known to the English, who proposed, 
in 1626, to raise bands of them at 4d. per day, with pipers at 8d. They 
had spears, swords, and dirks, but bows and arrows were their usual 
arms. Derrick describes those of 1581 in the following lines, 

" With skulles upon their poules, 

Insteade of civil cappes, 
With speares in hand and sword by sides, 

To beare off afterclappes ; 
With jaokettes long and large, 

Which shroud simplicitie : 

*See page 108. 



GALLOGLACH. 'Sid 

Though spiteful dartes which they do beare 

Importe iniquitie. 
Their shirtes be verie straunge, 

Not reaching paste the thigh, 
With pleates on pleates they pleated are, 

As thicke as pleates may lye. 
Whose slieves hang trailing doune, 

Almoste unto the shoe, 
And with a mantle commonlie 

The Irish Karne doe goe. 
And some amongst the reste, 

Do use another weede : 
A coat I ween of strange device, 

Which fancie first did breed. 
His skirtes be verie shorte, 

With pleates set thicke about, 
And Irish trouzes more, to put 

Their straunge protractours out. 
Like as their weedes be straunge. 

And monstrous to beholde ; 
So do their manners far surpasse 

Them all a thousande folde. 
For they are termed wilde, 

Wood Karne they have to name ; 
And mervaile not, though straunge it be, 

For they deserve the same," &c. 

The Galloglach, or Galloglas, were heavy armed: they were the 
tallest and strongest men of a clan, and were allowed a portion of meat 
double that of the other troops. They were armed with swords, helmets, 
and mail, and carried a Lochaber axe, which is said to have been pecu- 
liar to them, as the dirk was to the Kern. Considerable dependence 
was placed on these soldiers, who were usually drawn up against caval- 
ry. An old writer on Irish history says they were neither good against 
horse nor pikes. They were, however, in high estimation, and every 
individual of this class was specified in official returns. In "the rysing 
out of the Iryshrie and others to the general hosting, 1579," is Mac 
Donell, a Gallweglasse. They received certain pay, which appears to 
have been that called bonaughts. In an Irish MS., 1555, I find Gallo- 
glas money mentioned. From the name given to their pay, they were 
sometimes called bonaughti. Bonaugh-bur, was free quarter, and pay- 
ments either of money or victuals: bonaugh-beg, was a commutation for 
a settled quantity of money or provisions. These exactions were levied 
on heritable lands under the term sorehon, which comprehended other 
customary mails. Every plough land was also burdened with kern-tee, 
a payment rendered for the support of the Cearnach. A Galloglach 
usually attended the chief, whose duty was to prevent his master from 
being taken by surprise, and to rescue him from any sudden danger. 

The ancient Celts carried a dagger, suspended from a chain, or belt, 
fastened round the body. Herodotus describes the Scyths and Thra- 



216 DAGGERS, OR DIRKS. 

cians as carrying this weapon,* which was sharp and pointed, being used 
for close fighting, and among the Celtiberians it measured a span in 
length. I 

Dio describes the Caledonians, in the time of the Emperor Severus, 
as armed with daggers; and a stone preserved in the Glasgow Museum, 
dug from the wall of Antoninus, represents two figures, believed to be 
Celts, with this weapon hanging before them. The heroes of Morven 
and of Innisfail carried this essential part of the armor of the Scots and 
Irish. J Among the ancient Britons, the dagger, like the sword, was 
usually of brass, or bronze, and is often found in barrows in various 
parts of England. The Saxons had it longer than the Britons. It was 
called by the Welsh Cylleth hirion, or a very long knife; had a horn 
handle with brass ornaments, and a small hollow at the tip of the handle, 
for the thumb. ^ By means of this weapon, the Saxons perpetrated the 
treacherous and cruel massacre of the unsuspecting Britons, at their 
temple on Salisbury plain. A very neat little dagger, with an ivory 
handle nicely carved, found near Cillgerran, in Wales, may have belong- 
ed to a Cambrian Chief A little silver sword, about two and a half 
inches long, was given by Cullen, King of Scotland, to Gillespie More. 
Certain lands in Perthshire were held by this gift, and it was produced 
after 1743.11 

The dirk of the Highlanders is called bidag, or biodag, the bidawg of 
the Welsh, in the latter syllable of which we perceive the root of the 
English dagger. 

The BIDAG is adapted for fighting at close quarters, where the sword 
cannot be used, or where the party may, either m the heat of action, or 
otherwise, have been deprived of it. When dexterously wielded by a 
strong and resolute Highlander, this was a most terrific weapon. It was 
not held in the same way as the sword, but in a reverse position, point- 
ing towards the elbow, and the manner in which it was carried allowed 
it to be drawn with perfect facility. The belt which fastened the plaid, 
became the baldrick by which this trusty blade was secured. It was 
placed on the right side, and instead of hanging loosely as it is now gen- 
erally worn, the belt was either slipped through a hook affixed to the 
sheath, sometimes steady, and frequently movable on a swivel, or a 
long hook, or slide, answered the same purpose. It was thus firmly at- 
tached to the thigh, and was consequently so judiciously suspended, that 
it could be drawn in an instant, and this was of some importance in the 
event of a sudden assault, or so close a contention as would prevent a 
free use of the sword. If it hung loosely, it would have incommoded 
the wearer, and could not be so promptly at command, but, carried as 
it was, the hand could instinctively be laid on the hilt. 

From the peculiar manner in which this weapon was managed, the 
most dreadful execution was sometimes performed with it. When the 

* Lib. vii. c. 60-75. t Diodorus. t Ossian, &c. 

§ Hist, of Cardiganshire. || Pinkerton. 



DAGGERS, OR DIRKS. 217 

arm was raised, the dirk was pointed to the assailant in front: when low- 
ered, it menaced the foe behind, and, by turning the wrist either way, 
the enemy was kept at bay, or, if he escaped destruction, received the 
most deadly wounds. 

Incredible feats have been achieved by the dirk, which was a con- 
venient instrument to execute revenge. A violent feud had long sub- 
sisted between the Leslies and the Leiths, powerful names in Aberdeen 
and the adjoining counties, and one of the former having been invited, 
on some occasion, to the castle of a nobleman not concerned in the quar- 
rel, he found himself in the company of a number of his enemies, the 
Leiths. Waiting his opportunity, he joined the dance, and, suddenly 
drawing his dirk, he struck right and left, as he rushed through the hall, 
and, leaping from the window, effected his escape. To commemorate 
this bold and bloody exploit the tune of " Lesly amo' the Leiths" was 
composed. Another early instance of its use as an instrument of secret 
revenge, occurs in Ossian; as Carthon was binding Clessamor, the lat- 
ter, perceiving the foe's uncovered side, "drew the dagger of his 
fathers."* With this destructive instrument, at a later period, Forbes, 
the Laird of Brux, who was out in 1745, made "sun and moon shine 
thro'" the enemy, as he expressed himself to a friend of mine. 

The Highlanders were always partial to " the cold steel." The sword 
and dirk were well adapted to their fierce and overwhelming hand to 
hand mode of attack, and their dexterity in the use of both, ensured the 
success of many a foray, and was the means of their gaining many a 
victory. There were always, even in late times, many of the " High- 
landmen," who had no other arms, and from the many desperate con- 
flicts in which they signalized themselves with "sword an' dirk into their 
han', wi whilk they were na slaw," these came to be spoken of as almost 
the only weapons they possessed. At the battle of Killicrankie, fought 
in 1689, it is said of King William's troops, that 

" The dirk an' d'our, made their last hour, 
An' prov'd their final fa', man." 

I have remarked that more broad swords than dirks are to be now 
seen, and the reason, I apprehend, is, that the latter were appropriated 
for domestic purposes, when it was no longer necessary or lawful to 
carry them as arms. Pennant observed the dirk frequently converted 
into a very useful knife, by the butchers of Inverness, being, like Hudi- 

bras's dagger, 

" a serviceable dudgeon, 
Either for fighting or for drudging." 

I have seen them employed for various uses. Some chopped up moss 

fir as well as if they had never been intended for more honorable service, 

whilst others served in the humble but useful office of a "kail gully." 

Few are to be met with that do not appear to have been in requisition 

for other purposes than originally intended. The Highlander has often, 

by its means, provided himself with a "clear the lawing," i. e. a good 

* Carthon. 
28 



218 DAGGERS, OR DIRKS. 

cudgel. In attacking the Duke of Cumberland's army, at Clifton, the 
rebels cut through the hedges with their bidag, and it was one of the 
complaints on the disarming act, that they should be deprived of their 
dirks, with which they cut down wood, &c. Before the invention of 
knives they supplied their place at table. Possidonius says the Gauls 
applied them to this purpose. The Highlanders used them in quartering 
deer and other game. The dirk was the favorite "brand" of the Gael. 
The dagger of Ogar was "the weapon which he loved," The most 
solemn oath was swearing on it, and so convenient an implement was it 
found, that it was almost part of their weed. I recollect one John 
M'Bean, who fought at Culloden, and was among the M'Intoshes, who 
made so furious an irruption on the king's army. This old man, who 
died at the age of 101, and was able to walk abroad some days before 
his death, never thought himself dressed without his belt and a small 
knife. A gentleman of my acquaintance had shown his pistols to an old 
man at Skellater, in Strathdon, who, in reply, drew his dirk, and, re- 
garding it with a look of satisfaction, observed, "my pistol will no miss 
fire." The Highlanders thought it hard when the act for disarming them 
was passed, that they should not be permitted to carry this useful and 
convenient article, and were loath, when the gun, the sword, and the 
pistols were laid aside, to part with the dirk. It was a shrewd remark 
of one Steuart, in Avenside, who, coming down to the lower part of 
Strathdon, was reminded that it was now against the law to carry his 
dirk; " No," replied he, indignantly, "it is not against the law, but the 
law is against it! " The soldiers of the Black Watch, or 42nd, were 
allowed to carry these weapons, if they chose, and as the corps long 
continued to be composed of Duinuasals, or the better class of High- 
landers, who could provide themselves with them, they were worn until 
lately. Grose says that, in 1747, most of the privates had both dirks 
and targets. 

The dirk of the Highlander is an instrument peculiar to himself, and 
his ingenuity has rendered it extremely useful. The sheath has been 
contrived to contain his knife and fork, an improvement that has taken 
place at a remote period, as he could not well carve his venison without 
these implements. Their insertion in the sheath admits a considerable 
degree of ornament, and certainly adds to the splendor of a full dressed 
Highlander. Some of the more modern dirks have the top hollowed into 
a little cavity that is appropriated for snuff, but the convenience of this 
is not apparent. The length of the blade is determined by the length of 
the arm; when grasped in the hand, the point ought to reach to the 
elbow; it is double edged for some inches, and the old ones have usually 
the figure of a grayhound traced by aquafortis, near the hilt. 

The hilt of this instrument is often very curious, and is formed of a 
piece of wood, usually of alder, ingeniously figured. It is said these 
were generally the work of shepherds, performed by means of a common 
penknife. The carving represents a sort of tracery, where sprigs appear 



BELT 



219 



interlaced, and twisted around a rough piece of wood. These were 
more or less intricate, according to the fancy or ability of the workman. 
Some are executed with remarkable taste, and their beauty is heightened 
by small studs of gold, silver, brass, or steel, producing a rich effect. 
Where the handles of the knife and fork were not made of horn or bone, 
they were usually finished in a similar style. When the blade formed a 
point that was carried beyond the end of the hilt, it was converted into 
an ornamental knob at top, and when it did not appear, the top was 
carved or chased, and frequently a large cairngorm was set in it. The 
following, in the possession of the author, is a specimen of the old bidag 
and sheath. 




The BELT for this weapon went round the loins, and was of much use 
in ascending mountains, or in running, in which cases it was drawn 
close. It was no less useful in fasting; a current proverb advises the 
Gael to tighten their belts until they get food. It served also to fasten 
the breacan, and sometimes suspended the purse, having a buckle of 
brass, steel, or silver, which, in many cases, was figured, or bore a 
motto in front. Those of the Celtic warriors were richly ornamented 
with gold and silver; and, in Ossian's days, the "studded thongs of the 
sword," which he describes as broad, were much admired. A leathern 
girdle, perforated lozenge-wise, as here shown, was found in a barrow, 
at Beaksbourne, in Kent.* 




The Norwegians, at the battle of Largs, fought in 1263, stripped 
Ferus, a Scots' knight, of his beautiful belt.| 

Baldricks were not always of leather; they were sometimes of cloth, 
silk, or velvet, trimmed and ornamented with gold and silver. The 
Highlanders have ofi;en a waistbelt for suspending a pistol and ammuni- 
tion pouch. 

* Nenia Britannica. 

t Johnstone's Transl. of the JNorsG Account of Haco's expedition. 



220 BOW AND ARROW 

The dirk dance is a curious remain of the ancient amusements of the 
Gael, but, from the change of manners, few of the Highlanders have 
now the least knowledge of it. It is denominated bruichcath, and some 
dirks have several perforations in the blade for the purpose, it is said, of 
inserting the ramrod of the pistol to act as a guard, but this is quite in- 
consistent with the dirk exercise. This performance has been repre- 
sented in London, where two brothers, of the name of Mac Lennan, 
were almost the only individuals who could execute it, but the species of 
dance which is now known does not appear to be the same as the ancient. 
One James Mac Pherson, aged 106, several years since, saw two per 
sons execute this dance, and declared it was not, by any means, in the 
old national way. 

The Gauls carried a kind of sword, called by Strabo and Julius Pol- 
lux, machaera, by Csasar and Livy, matara, or mazara. The first, ac- 
cording to O'Conner, is the Gaelic ma' c'ar, the desolation of the field 
of battle, Mata is applied to all ferocious animals, and seems here 
joined with ar, or ara, slaughter. The matadh achalaise was a weapon 
worn by the Highlanders, and evidently derived from their remote ances- 
tors. It was carried under the left armpit, whence the term achalaise. 
Livy seems to describe it as hung from the left shoulder. In some 
fio-ures discovered in the North of England, we perceive a dagger sus- 
pended by a cord, or belt, passing under the right arm. 

Besides all these weapons, the Highlanders carried the skean dhu, or 
black knife, which was stuck between the hose and the skin of their 
right lea-. This may not be a very ancient practice: the knife was for 
the purpose of despatching game, or other servile purposes, for which the 
Highlanders had an objection to employ their dirk. 

The use of the bow and arrow is one of the most early discoveries 
of mankind. The Eastern nations have always been distinguished by 
an attachment to archery; and the modern Tartars, the descendants, as 
many believe, of the ancient Scythians, who can scarcely, in distant 
at^es, be discriminated from the Celtae, still retain that dexterity in the 
manao-ement of the bow, for which their ancestors were so celebrated. 
The inhabitants of the West and North of Europe were also famous for 
the exercise of this weapon, so serviceable in hunting and in battle, and 
their armies contained a numerous body who were armed with it, and 
who served both on foot and on horseback. So universal was the use of 
the bow, that Pliny observes half the world had been conquered by its 
means. Saighder, the Gaelic name for a soldier, is apparently a com- 
pound of saighead, an arrow, and fear, a man.* The Roman sagitta 
shows its Celtic original. The Gaelic word is a compound of sath, to 
thrust, or push, and geoda, an appendage. lui, or fiui, an arrow, is 
now obsolete, except in the poems of Ossian.t 

In Britain the BelgGB are represented as having been particularly 



' Smith, in Trans. Highland Soc. Vol. i. ; but see p. 126 this volume, 
t Rev. Thomas Ross's Notes on Fingal. 



BOW AND ARROW. 221 

skilful in the practice of archery, but the etymology given of the name, 
deriving it from this exercise, does not seem very just, for the bow was 
common to Caledonians, Irish, and Welsh. The Belgic tribes were 
denommated Firbolg, from the bolg, builg, or leathern bag, in which 
they carried their arrows, as some maintain. 

The chief part of the Gothic and Norman armies consisted of archers, 
and among the Franks the use of the bow was strictly enjoined. A law 
of Charlemagne ordains those who are armed with clubs to assume bows 
and arrows. The superior skill of the Welsh, in the management of 
this weapon, is highly extolled by Giraldus Cambrensis, who informs us 
' that the tribe named Venta excelled all others, and relates the following 
anecdote of their strength and dexterity. During a siege, it happened 
that two soldiers, running in haste towards a town, situated a little dis- 
tance from them, were attacked with a number of arrows from the 
Welsh, which being shot with prodigious violence, some penetrated 
through the oak doors of a portal, although they were the breadth of 
four fingers in thickness. The heads of these arrows were afterwards 
driven out and preserved, in order to continue the remembrance of such 
extraordinary force in shooting with the bow. It happened also in a 
battle, in the time of William de Breusa, (as he himself relates,) that a 
Welshman having directed an arrow at an horse-soldier of his, who was 
clad in armor, and had his leather coat under it; the arrow, besides 
piercing the man through the hip, struck also through the saddle, and 
mortally wounded the horse on which he sat. Another Welsh soldier, 
having shot an arrow at one of his horsemen who was covered with strong 
armor, in the same manner as the before mentioned person, the shaft 
penetrated through his hip and fixed in the saddle: but, what is most 
remarkable, is, that as the horseman drew his bridle aside, in order to 
turn round, he received another arrow in his hip on the other side, 
which, passing through it, he was firmly fastened to the saddle on both 
sides. A bow with twelve arrows were among the three legal arms oi 
the Cumri. 

The celebrity of the Irish archers appears to have declined in latter 
times. They continued indeed to use the bow; but if the name Scot is 
derived from the old Gaelic Sciot, an arrow, their ancestors must have 
been very remarkable for the practice. So much neglected, however, 
had the art of shooting with the bow become in Ireland, that Cambrensis 
recommends archers to be intermingled with the heavy English troops, 
when fighting with the natives; and the conquest of the island is said to 
have been achieved, principally by the services of these men, to which 
the Irish could not oppose a similar arm,* but the English long bow was 
a weapon which neither the Scots nor the Irish could, at all times, effectu- 
ally withstand. These nations never depended for victory in a pitched 
battle, by the use of their bows, which were of small size. The Scots' 
archers commenced an engagement, and when the battle joined, they 

* Lord Littleton. 



222 BOW AND ARROW 

abandoned the arrow for the sword and spear, as they were aflerwarda 
accustomed to do with their firearms. In the Low Country, where a reg 
ular charge could be made, the spear was the favorite weapon. Few of 
Wallace's men, we are told, were — " Sicker of archery," 

" better they were, 
In field to bide, eyther with sword or speare." 

Notwithstanding the dexterity with which they managed their own lit 
tie bows, the tremendous effect of the English was acknowledged in a 
current saying, that " every English archer beareth under his girdle 
twenty-foure Scottes," alluding to the number of arrows. Many enact- 
ments were passed, with little effect, to improve the Scots' archers. So 
late as 1595, one James Forgeson, a bowyer, was sent by the King of 
Scotland into England to purchase ten thousand bows and bow-staves, 
and as he could not procure them there, he proceeded to the continent. 
The Scots, remarkable for their tenacity of ancient practices, continued 
to use their short bows and little quivers with short-bearded arrows, 
which Spenser says " are at this day to be scene, not past three quar- 
ters of a yard long, with a string of wreathed hempe slackely bent, and 
Avhose arrows are not above half an ell long." 

The battle of Halidowne hill, 1333, affords an instance of the dread- 
ful effect of the English long bow. "The lord Percie's archers did 
withall deliver their deadly arrowes so lively, so courageously, so griev- 
ously, that they ranne through the men of armes, bored the helmets, 
pierced their very swords, beat their lances to the earth, and easily shot 
those who were more slightly armed, through and through." The Scot- 
ish archers, however, on several occasions, made a good figure in the 
national armies, and acquired considerable renown. Those who oppos- 
ed Haco, at Largs, in 1263, were well accoutred, and chiefly armed 
with bows and spears. At the field of Bannockburn, James IIL had 
ten thousand Highlanders with bows and arrows, who led the van. At 
Fala, James V. mustered an army of sixty thousand men, twenty thou- 
sand of whom carried pikes and spears, and twenty thousand "were 
armed with bows and habergions and two-handed swords, which was 
the armor of our Highland men."* In 1528, Lord Howard, the En- 
glish ambassador, brought three score horsemen, all picked men, and cel- 
ebrated for all sorts of athletic amusements, to Scotland; but "they were 
well sayed (tried) ere they passed out of it," says Pistcottie, " and that 
by their own provocation; but ever they tint, (lost); till at last the 
Queen of Scotland, the King's mother, favored the Englishmen, because 
she was the King of England's sister; and therefore she took an en- 
terprise of archery upon the Englishmen's hands, contrary her son, the 
King, and any six in Scotland, that he would wale, either gentlemen or 
veomen, that the Englishmen should shoot against them either at pricks, 
revers, or butts, as the Scots pleased. The king was content, and 
gart her pawn a hundred crowns, and a tun of wine upon the English- 

* Lindsay of Pistcottie. 



BOW AND ARROW. 223 

men's hands; and he incontinently laid down as much for the Scottish- 
men. The field and ground were chosen in St. Andrews, and three 
landed men and three yeomen chosen to shoot against the English, viz. 
David Wemys of that ilk, David Arnot of that ilk, and Mr. John Wed- 
derburn, vicar of Dundee; the yeomen were John Thompson, in Leith, 
Stephen Tabourner, with a piper, called Alexander Baillie. They shot 
very near, and warred the Englishmen of the enterprise, and won the 
hundred crowns and the tun of wine; which made the king very merry." 

The Scots' Highlanders and the Gael of Ulster continued to use the 
bow till the beginning of last century. It was extremely serviceable in 
hunting, for which purpose it was much employed by the ancient Brit- 
ons. In fighting, the Celtic method was first to expend all their arrows 
at a distance; when the chief of each tribe advanced with his men to a 
closer attack. The bow was last used as a military weapon by British 
troops about 1700, when the regiment of Royal Scots, commanded by 
the Earl of Orkney, were armed in " the old Highland fashion, with bows 
and arrows, swords and targets, and wore steel bonnets."* About that 
period the inhabitants of the island of Lewis were celebrated for their 
dexterity in archery :"{" those of Glenlyon, in Perthshire, J and Strathco- 
nan, were equally famous. The bow was drawn by the right ear. 

The introduction of the musket was a death blow to the use of the 
bow, and to the interests of all who lived by the manufacture. Those 
affected by the decay of this ancient, and once so effective weapon, 
strenuously opposed the adoption of firearms, and contended for its 
superiority. Its encouragement did for some time become an object of 
national solicitude, but no exertions could retard the advance of im- 
provement in the art of destruction, and avert the ultimate fall of "the 
noble science of archery." 

In the Lansdowne collection of MSS., No. 22 contains a discourse, 
addressed to the Council of Henry VIII., or Edward VI., showing that 
the use of the bow was much more destructive than "goinnery." 
AUeyn's Henry VII., quoted by Dr. Johnson, we are told that 
" The white faith of history cannot show 
That e'er a musket yet could beat the bow.' 

In 1576, the bowyers, fletchers, stringers, and arrow-head makers, 
petitioned Lord Burleigh for authority to enforce the practice of archery, 
and repress unlawful exercises, according to the statutes; when it is 
hoped that, in two or three years, the use of the bow would be restored. 
A warrant from Queen Elizabeth, preserved in the same volume, was 
granted according to the prayer of the petitioners, but it was unfortunate- 
ly left without the royal signature. 

Sir John Smyth, knight, in his work on " the Necessity of Archery," 
b. letter, 1596, says, he never will refuse, with eight thousand good ar- 
chers, to adventure his life against twenty thousand of the best shot in 
Christendom. Alas! the lamentable forebodings of speedy destruction 

* Mem, Don. Mac Leod. t Martin. t Gillies' Old Gaelic Poems, p. 83. 



224 STONE ARROW HEADS 

to the liberties of old England, from the introduction of fire arms, were 
the creations of their own brains; and Smyth's objections were repelled, 
with strono- arguments, by one Barwick, an old and experienced soldier. 
The Gallic bow appears, from various monuments, to have been simi- 
lar in form to those now used. The Scythians had it of a singular curve, 
the ends being bent inwards, in the form of a crescent, with a straight 
round part in the centre. The Scots made their bows of yew; the 
English preferred ash. Those of the Welsh were of rough wild elm.* 

Arrows, in their most simple form, were merely a reed, or slip of 
wood, carefully sharpened to a point; and it is reported as a curious fact, 
that an arrow of this sort will penetrate deeper into the body which it 
strikes, than if it were armed with any other substance. The arrows of 
the ancient inhabitants of Picardy were formed of a certain reed, ex- 
cellent for the purpose, and only inferior to those that grew in the Rhene, 
a river in Bonnonia.-j" The Scythians used fir tree,| the Sarmatae em- 
ployed cornel wood, and having no iron, they pointed their arrows with 
osiers. § The Fenns, a people of Germany, used bone. 

One of the most ancient means of arming offensive weapons, was by 
the laborious formation of stone for that purpose. So generally does 
this mode of pointing arrows seem to have prevailed, that there are few 
countries where these rude articles are not to be found. They have 
been discovered in America and the West India Islands. Herodotus 
describes the arrows of the Ethiopians, who served in Xerxes' army, as 
being pointed with a stone used for those seals that were engraved. jj 
The use of metal, which that writer shows to have been well known to 
the nations of the West at a very early period of time, indicates the ex- 
treme antiquity of these stone implements, which are found in consid- 
erable numbers in various parts of Scotland. In Ireland they are also 
often met with, but in England less frequently, although beautiful speci- 
mens have been discovered in the barrows of Wiltshire and elsewhere. 
They have been found in Isla, but have never perhaps been met with in 
any other of the Islands of Hebudfe. 

It is difficult to conceive how they could have been formed in those 
rude ages, when there were no implements of metal to assist in the 
manufacture. It must have been by a patient and careful beating and 
rubbing, the workman probably spoiling many before he was able to 
produce one perfect. The regularity of their figure is astonishing, and 
much labor and perseverance were certainly necessary, to mould and 
polish them so neatly. The flint of which they are formed is generally 
of a brownish color; in Perth and Aberdeenshires they are generally 
reddish. Some have been found in Ireland of a stone resembling an 
onyx, and nearly as pellucid. 

They are usually discovered in the sepulchres of the ancient tribes, 
who were accustomed to deposit a certain number, according to the 

* Gir. Camb. t Pliny, xvi. 36. t Strabo. 

■ ^ Pausanias, i. 21 || Lib. vii. 69. 



STONE ARROW HEADS. 225 

rank and estimation in which the deceased warrior was held; but in 
Scotland they are more generally to be picked up on the land, particu- 
larly that which has been recently brought under cultivation, being then 
turned up by the plough or spade. In some particular parts they are 
found more abundantly than in others, and often in such numbers as to 
indicate the field of an ancient battle. Many rough flints are found in 
a certain spot on the Culbin hills, near the aestuary of the Findhorn, and 
no similar stones being near the place, it has been conjectured that a 
manufactory for arrow heads was there established.* That they were 
very valuable in those rude ages, when they were used, can be readily 
believed from the extreme trouble there must have been in forming them, 
and it appears they were occasionally deposited under ground for secur- 
ity, as money has been in more recent times. If their fabrication was 
an art practised by certain persons, these hoards may have been their 
stock. In trenching a piece of very rough stony ground, at Cults, on 
the banks of the Dee, a few miles from Aberdeen, several years since, 
about thirty of them were found under a large stone; and, in laboring a 
waste part of a farm in the brse of Essie, a similar deposit was discov- 
ered. These singular facts prove the care with which those little im- 
plements were preserved. 

Their most common and simple form is a lozenge, more acute at one 
end than the other; some are barbed on each side. One which was 
found at Connemara, in Ireland, had no middle point, but, from the print, 
it does not appear whether this part is in its original state. "f One of those 
found at Essie had the middle part very neatly perforated. 

These stone heads were fixed, it is supposed, in a small cavity, adapt- 
ed for this purpose, in the end of the shaft. Such a mode of pointing 
arrows was very common in recent times, the shaft being formed with a 
hollow at one end. In Scotland the flint arrow heads are denominated 
elf shot, from a firm belief, among the common people, that they are of 
no human formation, but the shot with which the elves, or fairies, assail 
cattle, and even attempt the destruction of human beings, either for their 
amusement, or from a spirit of malevolence. J 

This superstition exists in full strength, even among people whose 
education, one might suppose, would prevent the indulgence of so ridicu- 
lous an idea, and" various practices are resorted to in order to avert or 
counteract the designs of rhese evil spirits. I have heard several per- 
sons speak of having been struck with them, fortunately not with suffi- 
cient force to prodjof; ei wound, in the most positive manner, and many 
more have declared th-si they have often witnessed the cattle laboring 
under the effects of Ih/a unearthly shot. It is, indeed, acknowledged 
that now, when the ^>criptures have become so fully disseminated, the elves 



" Sir T. Dick Lpuf'ji. in Trans, of Scots Antiquaries, iii. 99. 
t Archajologia, yv. 394. 

:f The Manx believe that the first inhabitants of their island were fairies, who were 
extremeJy fond of hunting. Waldron's Hist. 
29 



226 STONE ARROW HEADS. 

have been restrained from so free a range, and it is only occaisionally 
that any of the cattle are " shot a dead." 

In Bowen's Geography, printed in 1747, we find it related that the 
"county of Aberdeen has one sort of stones, which seem to be of the 
flint kind — they are always found by chance, and often in the roads, 
where none were to be seen an hour or two before, and sometimes they 
are discovered in the boots, &.c. of travellers; and as they are generally 
found in the summer, when the sky is clear, naturalists conclude they 
are formed in the air, by some gross exhalations!" Sir Robert Sibbald 
also notices their frequency in Aberdeenshire.* A clergyman, about 
the end of the seventeenth century, says they are shaped like a barbed 
arrow head, but flung, like a dart, with great force! 

When cattle are unfortunately struck by these malicious elves, they 
breathe hard and refuse all food, by which tokens it is easily understood 
what has befallen them. Those women who are " canny" immediately 
begm carefully to examine the animal, until they find where the arrow 
head has wounded them; and this is a matter of no little difficulty, for 
the skin is never perforated, but the hole is found in the inner membrane. 
In Aberdeenshire they are accustomed to cure the elf shot by an appli- 
cation of salt and tar, prepared with due solemnity. In other parts, the 
place where the animal has been struck is well rubbed with salt, and a 
quantity of it dissolved in water, wherein silver, or an elf shot has been 
dipped, is poured down the throat, and some is also sprinkled on the 
ears. The animal then begins to breathe easier, and, in the course of 
an hour, will recover. Cattle who die of this disease, or, rather, acci- 
dent, exhibit mortified spots in those parts where the shot is believed to 
have entered, for it is not the least mysterious circumstance that the 
shot itself is never found in the flesh, but is often picked up near the 
animal. However strange it may appear, very respectable authorities 
have borne testimony to the existence of such spots, or holes, under the 
skin, as well as to the efficiency of the prescribed cure. That there is 
such a malady is certain, and the mode of treating it may be successful. 
The superstitious observances attending the application are derived from 
those times when the efficacy of all prescriptions were believed to de- 
pend on the virtues imparted by the ceremonies with which they were 
prepared. None of the herbs, so celebrated for their sanative proper- 
ties during the existence of Druidism, were gathered or administered 
without the most scrupulous adherence to established forms. 

In consequence of the popular persuasion that these singular stones 
are really the offensive weapons of "the fair folk," it is difficult to pre- 
vail with those who have been so fortunate as to meet with one, to part 
with it, for it is firmly believed, that so long as an elf shot is preserved, 
neither the cattle nor the owner is liable to be molested by these insidi- 
ous enemies. They are, therefore, carried about the person, or careful- 

* Plott's Hist, of Staffordshire. 



BOW AND ARROWS. 227 

ly deposited in the guidwife's kist, and sometimes they are even set m 
silver.* 

I have been able to collect fourteen or fifteen of them, but have often 
observed a party, from whom I was soliciting them, assume a look of 
considerable gravity, apparently suspecting that I had some other reason 
for my request than motives of mere curiosity. 

After the art of working metals was discovered, mankind would soon 
avail themselves of its use in pointing their arrows. The Scythians, so 
early as the time of Herodotus, had their arrow heads of brass, and he 
relates a story which shows that they must have had very great numbers 
of them. The time when iron, or brass, became the substitute for the 
rude flint of the primitive Celts is unknown. In the earliest history of 
the Caledonians we find metal in use, and in one of Ossian's poems we 
even read of an arrow of gold! In the seventeenth century they had 
" arrows for the most part hooked, with a barbie on either side, which, 
once entered within the body, could not be drawn forth again, unless 
the wound was made wider." There seems to have been something 
peculiar in the form of these points, which made a most galling wound. 
Spenser describes the Scots of Ulster as having their arrows " tipped 
with Steele heads, made like common broad arrow heads, but much more 
sharpe and slender, so that they enter into a man or horse most cruelly, 
notwithstanding that they are shot forth weakely,""]" 

The old Caledonian arrows were of birch, feathered in the usual man- 
ner, and carried by the side. Perhaps the Celts stuck them in the belt, 
as the English and Scots were afterwards accustomed to do; but a figure, 
supposed to represent a Gaul, discovered in Northumberland, has a 
quiver suspended at his right hip. Cambrensis informs us the common 
Welsh carried the arrows in their hand. The ancient Britons had, how- 
ever, generally quivers of osier; some of twisted brass, but unknown 
antiquity, have been found. The Gael had them formed of badger's 
skin. J Their strings are said to have been of hemp, but they were, it 
is believed, also formed of the intestines of animals. It is reckoned 
good policy to "have two strings to a bow." A seal, found in the field 
of Bannockburn, represented a figure carrying a bow, provided with 
two strings, both fixed; and a law of Charlemagne refers to " arcum 
cum duabus cordis." 

An ancient amusement of the Scotish bowmen, was shooting at the 
pepingoe, or popingay, and there is a society regularly established, in 
1688, at Kilwinning, in Airshire, where this mark is projected from the 
church steeple, and the archers, resting their left foot close to the base 
of the wall, shoot perpendicularly. The royal archers of Scotland, who 
have the honor to be the king's body guard in that kingdom, and enjoy 
certain privileges, were incorporated by Queen Anne. 

* Vallancey says the Irish set them in silver, and wear them about the neck as am- 
ulets. Collect. Hib. 

t Spenser. Carrying bows and arrows were restrained. lb. 22. Hist of Ireland, 1G26. 
t Prosnacha Fairge of Clan Rannald. 



228 CAVALRY. 

The Highlanders do not appear, in recent times, to have had cav 
ALRY, but the old Gael had certainly considerable bodies of horsemen. In 
proof of this, a poem of John Lorn Mac Donald, who lived in the time 
of Charles II., addressed to Clanrannald, may be quoted, Avhere there 
is a verse of which the following is a translation : 

" When thou didst take up arms in the cause of thy King, thy saddles covered a 
thousand dark gray coursers."* 

The author of a journey in Scotland, 1729, says the Frasers, were 
mostly composed of gentlemen on horseback. The Caledonians long 
preserved a celebrity for horsemanship, which was inherited from their 
remote ancestors, the Celtic tribes of Britain and the continent, who 
were equally renowned for their well trained cavalry. The chief strength 
of their armies consisted in infantry, but Strabo asserts that the horse- 
men were most efficient, and Plutarch attests the excellence of this 
branch of their military. "f Tacitus particularly celebrates the Tencteri, 
and Caesar acknowledges the admirable manner in which the Gallic, 
German, and British cavalry opposed and thwarted his ambitious de- 
signs. At the battle of Cannae, the Celtic horsemen behaved with a 
firmness and intrepidity which excited the praises of their enemies. 

In the Northern regions, we are told by Pliny, the horses were wild, 
and roamed about in great herds, but the Gauls and Germans must have 
had them domesticated and broken into great docility, and so much were 
they esteemed, that the Romans, according to Strabo, procured the 
chief part of their horses from Gaul. By Tacitus they are considered 
less remarkable for their fleetness than for keeping excellent order, 
marching with the greatest regularity. Those of Celtiberia were small, 
but had a graceful pace, and were taught to stoop, that their riders 
might be able to mount with facility ; J those of Lusitania were extremely 
fleet. § The rude warriors of distant ages, robust, and inured to pri- 
vations and fatigue, bred their horses to extreme labor and hardihood. 
We are told that the Sarmatians, a German people celebrated as eques- 
trians, when preparing for a long journey, gave their horses no meat for 
two days, but supplied them with a little drink and galloped them one 
hundred and fifty miles on a stretch! 

The British horses are described by Tacitus and Dio as diminutive, 
but extremely swift, spirited, and hardy, resembling those of the pre- 
sent Highlanders, which were in general allowed until lately, like the 
race in Shetland, to live in almost natural wildness. 

The small native Highland horses are termed garrons, and although 
now semi-domesticated, it is often a work of much trouble to catch them 
when they are turned loose on the hills. To accomplish this, they are 
sometimes driven up a steep hill, where the nearest pursuer endeavors 
to catch them by th^e hind leg, both not unfrequently tumbling down 
together; sometimes they are hunted until fatigue compels them to lie 

* Turner's Collection, p. 87. + The whole force of the Catti consisted of foot. 

t Strabo. § Pliny, lib. viii. 



CAVALRY. 229 

down. An entertaining writer, who visited the country many years ago, 
gives the following description of the method of breaking-in these unruly 
animals, as he witnessed it in Inverness-shire. A man had tied a rope 
about the hind leg; the horse was kicking and struggling violently, while 
the Highlander continued to beat it unmercifully with a large stick, 
" and sometimes the garron was down, and sometimes the Highlander 
was down, and not seldom both of them together, but still the man kept 
his hold," and succeeded in reducing the horse to perfect docility. 

The ancient Caledonians were celebrated for the use of horses in war. 
Their descendants neglected this arm, without entirely disusing it. They 
are said to have had the greatest dread of cavalry, their fears being aug- 
mented by an idea that the horses were taught to fight with their feet as 
well as to bite. They certainly evinced no such terror in 1745, when 
they so often defeated them. On the contrary, the rebels entertained 
great contempt for cavalry, having so easily overthrown the dragoons. 
The manosuvre by which this was accomplished consisted in striking at 
their heads, and slashing the mouths, which infallibly sent them to the right 
about. An old follower of the Mac Intoshes told me he saved his life 
at Culloden by this mode of defence, against some horsemen. The 
cavalry in the Highland army on this occasion, besides the French piquet, 
were chiefly from the Low Country. The Irish were celebrated horse- 
men to a late period, and their horses were of the same small breed. It 
was apparently from their size that they were called Hobbies, whence 
the cavalry were denominated Hobblers. These troops were not, in- 
deed, all provided with arms, but they were found serviceable in the 
English armies, and paid according to their equipments. Two thousand 
were ordered against the Scots by Edward II., and at the siege of Ca- 
lais, in 1347, many were employed. The nobles had much pride irj the 
appearance of their horses. Paul Jovius says he saw twelve of a beau- 
tiful white color, adorned with purple and silver reins, led, without 
riders, in the train of the Pope. A French writer, describing the expe- 
dition of Richard II. to Ireland, in 1399, says, Mac Murrough's horse 
cost 400 cows, but he rode without either stirrups or saddle. The Cel- 
tic riders do not appear to have used these articles. A bridle seems to 
be indispensable; yet, in the sculpture of Antoninus's column, &c. they 
are usually represented without reins, sustaining themselves, when at 
full gallop, by clinging to the neck or mane. Sometimes a single rein 
is seen; and a cord, or fillet, is in some cases carried once or twice 
round the neck. Alexander I. offered a favorite Arabian horse at the 
altar of St. Andrew's Church, the saddle, bridle, and velvet housings of 
which were splendidly ornamented. The Welsh, whose horses were of 
the same diminutive and hardy breed as the Scots and Irish, and who 
retained the national partiality for the use of cavalry, had a conside- 
rable number at the battle of Agincourt, 1415, none of whom had sad- 
dles. The Irish, some centuries since, notwithstanding they neither 
used stirrups nor saddle, were very expert equestrians, being accustom- 



230 CAVALRY. 

ed to vault on horses while running at their utmost speed, and although 
they bore the spear above the head, yet many acknowledged they 
had "never met with more comely or brave chargers." About two 
hundred years ago they occasionally used a pad without stirrups, 
but it was thought strange that the women should ride with their faces 
to the right side.* It does not appear that shoes for horses were con- 
sidered necessary by the Celts. The inhabitants of the Isles, and many 
districts of the Highlands of Scotland, at the present day, prove that 
these articles are not indispensable. The horses travel in these parts 
without inconvenience, and with the surest footing, over the hard flinty 
rocks, and along the most intricate and precipitous tractways. They do 
not seem formerly, in any case, to have been shod, and so little is it yet 
attended to, that, in some districts, the blacksmiths can neither make 
shoes, nor put them on! 

The Gallic, German, and Scythian horsemen, as seen in the remains 
of ancient sculpture, wore the sagum, thrown over the naked shoulders, 
and enveloping the rider much like the cloak of the modern cavalry. 
They carried a shield and javelin, to which a sword was sometimes ad- 
ded. Similar arms were borne by the British tribes, and retained until 
late ages by the inhabitants of Wales. The Irish, in the beginning of 
the seventeenth century, used also a staff.| 

The Celtic cavalry consisted of horsemen and charioteers, the troops 
serving, in either way, according to circumstances. They were always 
attended by footmen, who were ready to succor their masters when 
wounded or overpowered, and were able also to fight in their stead. 
These followers were chosen by the warriors from their own kindred, 
and they had thus an opportunity of selecting the best qualified and 
most faithful of their followers, who, like the attendants of the knights 
of the middle ages, had opportunity of rising to distinction under the 
eye of their superiors. How striking is the similarity of this practice to 
that of the Scotish Gael! It is related of Hannibal, that, before the bat- 
tle with Sempronius, he picked out one thousand horse and as many 
foot, and ordered each to choose nine others from the whole army. As 
this general had a numerous body of Gauls in his service, from which 
people the Carthaginians always recruited their forces, it is not improb- 
able that he imitated the practice of the Celts in this case, for we find 
him, on other occasions, paying some deference to their opinion. The 
Romans, who were noted for adopting every thing advantageous in the 
tactics of other nations, perhaps formed their Velites on the Celtic 
plan. 

We find, also, that the Gallic horsemen were sometimes accompanied 
by two servants, who, on the marches, attended to the wagons and 
baggage, but were provided with horses, and fought bravely in battle. 
They posted themselves in the rear, and supplied their masters with 
horses, if dismounted, or, if killed, one took his place, and, if he also 

Spenser, Riche, Stanihurst, &c. t Riche, p. 96. 



WAR CHARIOTS. 231 

fell, the other was ready to succeed him. This mode of fighting they 
called trimarcisias, from the word marca, a horse.* To this day, marc, 
in the Gaelic of Scotland and Ireland, has the same signification ;■]" in 
Welsh and Armori<^ there is march, in Cornish marh. The term is 
therefore a compound of tri, three, and marca, horse! The same mode 
of fighting was practised by the Irish, who had two regular horsemen, 
and another whose business it was to attend to the animal. J These last 
were the Horse boys. The chosen bands of the Persians, and others, 
did not attack the enemy until those who were engaged had all been 
slain; but the Celts, on the contrary, continued to fill up the places of 
such as fell. Vegetius says, that among the Gauls and Celtiberians 
these bodies amounted to six thousand men. Dumnorix, an ^duan 
chief, kept constantly a great number of horsemen in his pay, who at- 
tended him wherever he went.^ These men were so strong and 
swift of foot, that, seizing the horses' mane, when running, they could 
easily keep pace with them. 

The most remarkable feature in a Celtic army was the body of chari- 
oteers, who performed their evolutions with surprising dexterity and 
direful effect. The Britons were indeed so expert in this manner of 
fighting, that it is believed to have originated with them, an opinion that 
may have arisen from the superiority of their tactics, and the practice 
becoming less frequent on the continent. Much conjectural discussion 
has arisen respecting the form and construction of the battle chariots. 
Some antiquaries have supposed that they resembled the Irish cars, or 
the rude carts used by the inhabitants of Wales ij] but it is impossible 
to believe that the British chariots, if not superior to those mean and 
awkward vehicles, could have excited so particularly the notice of the 
Romans, or made so great an impression on their veteran legions. In- 
considerable as the commerce of the Britons may have been in those dis- 
tant ages, it can be reasonably presumed they were not destitute of many 
cars, for the purposes of traffic. The extended tractways, formed with 
sufficient care to preserve, even yet, well defined remains, were surely 
constructed for such conveyances. 

Celtic armies were always accompanied by numerous wagons, even 
when there was little or no baggage to be removed; and we learn from 
Diodorus that they used chariots in travelling as well as in war. One 
description was called Covinus. Cobhain, in Gaelic, signifies a box, or 
any similar receptacle, and is the origin of the English coffin, the bh 
having the sound of v. The word, if originally applied to the battle car, 
may be derived from cobh, victory, or cobhuain, to hew down on all 
sides, in allusion to the hooks and scythes with which these vehicles were 

* Pausanias, x. 19. Diod. v. 2. 

t Hence marcach, a rider ; marchsluagh, cavalry. Cabal, whence the Latin Cab- 
allus, is another term for this animal from all, a horse, and cab, mouth, i. e. a horse 
who is guided by the mouth, or broken in. 

i Beckman's Hist, of Invent, ii. p. 247. § Bello Gall. i. 15. 

II King's Munimenta Antiqua. 



232 WAR CHARIOTS. 

provided, both in Britain and on the continent. The old Highlanders 
applied this term to a sort of litter, borne between two horses, in manner 
of a bier. The word is now lost in the Gaelic,* but carbad, of similar 
import, is preserved, and this word, used by Ossi^i and other bards for 
the war chariot, is now applied to a coffin. From this has probably 
arisen the tradition that that of Cuthullin, described by Ossian, was his 
funeral car. 

Another sort of chariots were called Essedas; and Whitaker, who 
notices the general appellation of car-rhod, wheeled car, says they were 
furnished with seats. Du Cange says the covinus was currus cathedra 
instructus, but there is reason to believe that it was not so; the name 
implies that they were not encumbered with seats. The Essedarii seem 
to have been those who fought in the first-rate war chariots, drawn by 
two horses, and their name appears to be one of those ancient Celtic 
words that no longer exist. The term fonnadh, synonymous with carbad, 
has been disused by the Highlanders for ages. 

The battle cars must have been strongly built, to sustain the violent 
concussions produced by their furious encounters, and they could not 
have been constructed at all without the possession of necessary tools, and 
a knowledge of the mechanical arts. I am here obliged to differ from 
that excellent antiquary, Sir R. Hoare, who is of opinion that these ve- 
hicles were of slight construction, and finds his supposition strengthened 
by a recent discovery, of which he furnished an account to the Society 
of Antiquaries. t In a fissure, or chink, of the rock at Hamden hill, near 
Bath, many curious articles were found; among which were fragments 
of wheels, conjectured to be the remains of war chariots. One of those 
was nearly perfect, measured two and a half feet in diameter, and had 
contained twelve spokes. It was only two inches thick, being little 
stronger than a grinder's wheel, and how a construction so weak could 
have withstood the rough jolting, the furious driving, and the violent 
shocks of a contention on unequal ground is not easily conceived. The 
term carbad-cogaidh, literally the war chariot, used by the ancient bards, 
seems to distinguish it from others, and, when it is characterized as 
" rapid," it is expressive of the velocity with which it was driven. 

Diodorus says the Gauls and Britons used the war chariot just as the 
Trojans did, and we have little reason to believe the forms were very 
different ; a description of those of the Greeks and Romans may there- 
fore be applicable to the others. There were two wheels, of no greater 
diameter than the height of a man's knee, and they were sometimes 
formed of wood, firmly joined together by iron, but the common method 
was with four, six, or eight spokes, the fellies being shod with brass 
The axle-tree, on which they moved, was long, in order to prevent the 
car from being overset by the inequalities of the ground. The pole, or 
temo, was very strongly fastened to the axle, and so well secured by 
two diagonal pieces of wood that no instance is said to have occurred of 

* Rev. Dr. Mac Queen, of Kilmuir. t Archseologia, xxi. 



WAR CHARIOTS. 233 

its being broken. The body of the car was also fixed to the axle, for 
farther security, and the chariot could therefore be driven with the ut- 
most rapidity, over all sorts of ground, and in the thickest tumult of bat- 
tle, without any danger of being overturned. The body of the car was 
open behind, and, from the manner of harnessing, this part fell very low. 
The sides that were here little higher than the floor, rose gradually to- 
wards the front, which was breast high, and rounded for the protection of 
the riders, from which it was called the shield part. In the works of the 
bards it may be remarked, quadrangular chariots, and some of "many 
corners," are spoken of. Fosbrooke says the body of the car was form- 
ed of wicker; the harness of the Greek chariot was simple, but well 
adapted for the purpose, the collar and the body girth appearing to be 
the only parts employed, and both were formed of broad and thick leath- 
ern belts, which joined across the horses' withers; on these were laid 
the ends of the yoke, which was formed of wood, with a curve fitting the 
round of the animal's shoulders. The pole was fixed to the yoke by a 
peg inserted in a hole, and was farther secured by a stout leathern thong, 
which, according to Homer, was about fourteen feet in length. 

The Celtic chariots appear to have been usually drawn by two hor- 
ses abreast, and it is supposed that this sort were the Essedae, which 
were provided with the scythe blades, the covinus being drawn by one 
horse only, and not furnished with these destructive weapons. This 
opinion does not seem well founded, for, on an ancient sculpture, we 
see an armed car drawn by a single horse. The blades, or hooks, were 
like other arms, usually of bronze, and about thirteen inches in length.* 
It is customary to represent them attached to the axle, but it is evident 
that, for the purpose of cutting down the enemy, they must have been 
immovably fixed to the car. If the description of Cuthullin's chariot, as 
preserved in the poems of Ossian, be admitted as authentic, the cars of 
the Britons will be found to have closely resembled those above des- 
cribed, and to have been of ingenious construction. The investigations 
of the Highland Society have discovered that the translation of Mac 
Pherson was not executed with sufficient fidelity. The word which he 
renders gems, is applied to pebbles, which, however, may comprise those 
precious stones that are so frequently found in the mpuntains. There 
certainly appears to be nothing improbable in the bard's account, for we 
know that the Celts were always remarked for a strong pride of dress 
and ornament, and used, long before the value of coral, as an export to 
India, became known, to adorn their shields, swords, helmets, &c. with 
it. The Irish took the greatest delight in the splendor of their cavalry 
accoutrements; and, in a comparatively recent period, it was thought 
necessary to repress their extravagance, by a statute against "the use 
of gilt bridles and petronels." The Scots were equally vain, and it will 
be hereafter shown that the Bardic descriptions are not inconsistent with 
the state of the arts in those remote periods. Propertius says that the 

* Fosbrooke's Encyclopedia of Antiquities. 
30 



234 CALEDONIAN BATTLE CAR. 

car was often painted, and the yoke embossed.* Cuthullin is styled " the 
chief of the noble car," from which it may be inferred that it was of 
superior construction; it was evidently an Esseda, and not the common 
sort, and a prevalent tradition represents it with four horses. "[ 

The following description from a poem in the possession of the High- 
land Society, differs considerably from the version of Mac Pherson. In 
the first volume of the Highland Society's edition of the works of Ossian 
is another translation from the original poems, formerly in Mac Pher- 
son 's possession, which shows that, however beautiful the diction, he did 
not perform his task with strict fidelity. 

I have there seen the car of battle, 

The shining car of many corners ! 

Moving sometimes slow, and sometimes rapid, — 

Guided by the skilful and the wise ! 

It is like the mist which bright arises 

From its edge of mild red light, 

On a bare and stony summit. 

Its green covering is formed of haircloth. 

On its wheel, smooth as bone, is the gloss of wax. 

Its beams of yew, with full grained ears. 

And spreading bows is carved ! 

Around the car 

Is every smooth and shining pebble. 

The gleaming light, vs^hich darts a double ray 

From its sides of crimson, 

Is like the sparkling whirl of the sea, 

Round a ship, when the moon is not seen on the flood. 

First in the car is found 

The gray, the swift, the leading horse, 

The large thorough passing, quick travelling, 

The broad breasted, sure eyed, and equal paced, 

The high spirited, well trained, and wide leaping steed, 

Whose name is Lia-maishah, (the handsome gray.) 

Last in the car is found 

The strong hoofed and powerful horse, 

The long flanked, proudly bounding, 

Small shanked, thin maned, 

High headed, quick paced ; 

The light bellied, snorting, eager steed, 

Whose name is Dusronmor, (black, with large nostrils.) 

In the centre of the car are found, 

For the support of the generous steeds, 

The arms known to fame. 

The light, broad plated darts, 

Of rapid flight and deadly aim. 

The narrow but firm reins, 

The precious highly polished bits, which shine in the mouth. 

Lockers containing coverlets and glistening gems, 

The beautiful furniture of the steeds. 



* " Essedae coelatis siste Britannici jagis," ii. 

t Dr. Mac Queen, of Kilmuir, in a letter to Dr. Blair. 



CHARIOT EXERCISE. 235 

Within tlie car is the strong armed hero of swords, 

Whose name is Cuchullin, the son of Semo, 

Son of Suvalta, son of Begalt. 

His red cheek is Uke the poHshed yew : 

Lofty the look of his blue rolling eye beneath the arch of his brow. 

His bushy hair is a waving flame, 

As coming towards us, a fiery bolt. 

He wields both his forward spears. 

The rest of this curious poem is wanting. It would appear from it 
that the horses were yoked in line, but other translations represent them 
abreast. These also describe the gems as ornamenting the horses' 
manes. 

The use of the chariot was confined to kings and commanders;! and 
of the two riders, the most honorable held the reins, from which he ac- 
quired the bardic appellation of the ruler of the car. In drawing up an 
army, the Celts placed the horsemen and chariots at the extremity of 
each wing, as we learn from Polybius and Tacitus, but they were also 
accustomed to mix light-armed foot with the cavalry, for the purpose of 
stabbing the enemies' horses, and overthrowing the riders. J The at- 
tack commenced by driving furiously up and down, or rather bearing 
down transversely along the front of the enemies' line, when by discharg- 
ing their darts, or saunians, they broke the ranks and opened a way for 
the infantry. When this was accomplished, they dismounted and fought 
with their swords; the drivers retiring to a little distance, placed them- 
selves in reserve to assist those that were most hotly pressed, and secure 
the retreat of the warriors, should they be defeated. § In order to avoid 
the danger of the furious onset, Alexander ordered his troops, when en- 
gaged with the Thracians, who had a multitude of cars, to lay themselves 
flat on the ground, and, covering themselves with their shields, to allow 
the enemies' cavalry to pass over them. The chariot attack was so 
terrific, that the noise of the horses and rattling of the wheels, alone, 
were sometimes sufficient to throw the firmest troops into confusion. The 
Roman legions suffered excessively from the destructive charges of the 
Gallic battle car. The admirable manner in which it was managed by 
the Britons is attested by the great Caesar. " In the most steep and dif- 
ficult places," says he, " they can stop their horses when at full speed, 
turn them which way they please, run along the pole, rest on the har- 
ness, and throw themselves back into their chariots with incredible dex- 
terity." Such feats are only seen in our days at places for equestrian 
exhibitions. The choicest phalanx of Roman veterans was shaken by 
the British covinarii, whose numbers were astonishingly great, for, after 
Cassivellanus had disbanded his army in despair, he reserved four thou- 
sand cars as a small body guard, who, thus reduced, were yet so formi- 
dable to the Romans that Caesar strictly forbade his troops to venture 

* Report on the poems of Ossian, p. 205. 

t Tacitus, Vita Agricolse. Adomnan, i. c. 7. 

t Bello Gall. vii. Amm. Mar. xvi. 10. § Bello Gall. v. 12. 



236 RACE COURSES. 

any distance from the camp, although his army consisted of five legions. 
It was a favorite mancEuvre of the charioteers to feign a retreat, in 
order to draw the cavalry from the main body, when, suddenly alighting, 
they encountered the pursuers on foot, who were unable to contend with 
a manner of fighting to which their usual tactics were so unequal, and 
which was rendered more dangerous by the Celtic principle of fighting 
in Clans. In that most ancient poem, the Tainbo of Cualgne, a chariot 
fight is described. Linchets, or deep cuts like terraces, on the sides of 
hills and in the vicinity of intrenchments, were probably for the ascent 
and descent of the cars. 

It is evident that great skill was requisite in the management of the 
war chariot. From an ancient coin, the driver appears to correct the 
horses with a bundle of rods in place of a whip. Steadiness was most 
essential as well m advancing as in wheeling, wherein it is thought that 
the chief excellence in driving was displayed. Indeed, without an amaz- 
ing dexterity in managing the carbad, the whole body must have been 
thrown into disorder and confusion, and their own line of infantry broken 
through. The Celts, more particularly the British tribes, were extreme- 
ly proud of this part of the army, on which they placed so much depend- 
ance, and it was therefore an object of national importance to have the 
troops well trained and exercised in the various evolutions peculiar to 
the service. Chariot races were undoubtedly very popular amusements 
of antiquity, notwithstanding the assertion of Pausanias, that the prac- 
tice was " neither an ancient invention nor attended with graceful execu- 
tion."* Of so much importance did the Britons consider these races, 
that they appear to have made their celebration a religious duty, from 
a cursus being found in the immediate vicinity of places of worship, the 
most remarkable instance of which is found on Salisbury plain, near the 
celebrated Stonehenge. This race course is about three hundred and 
fifty feet wide, and rather more than three quarters of a mile long. The 
seats for the judges, or the career, is placed at one end, and is raised 
terracewise. From this place the racers started, and turned round two 
mounds at the other end. It has been observed that if several chariots 
contended, it must follow that those on the outside, having a greater 
circuit to make than the inner rank, the equality between the competi- 
tors was destroyed; but I am of opinion that this would be entirely obvi- 
ated by the chariots being arranged, before starting, in a diagonal line, 
from the corner of the career towards the side of the cursus, a form that 
would, besides, allow the judges to have a proper view of those who 
were to run. 

There is another hypodrome about half a mile distant, which is sup- 
posed to retain its ancient name in Rawdikes, derived from Rhedagua, 
a race ground. "f Another is seen near Dorchester; one is in the vicini- 

* Lib. V. c. 9 ; he flourished in 165. 
t Pownal on the Study of Antiquities. 



FIREARMS. 237 

ty of Royston, and another exists on the bank of the Lowther, near 
Penrith. Perhaps the annual coursing around Cnoc an geal, in lona, at 
the feast of St. Michael, may have originated among the pagan Celts. 
The Cur ragh of Kildare, in Ireland, is supposed to have been a cursus; 
its name appears to come from comhruith,* a race-course. There is 
also a plain called Curraugh, in the Isle of Man. 

Mis-merh, the horse-month, was the name, according to Pryce, given 
to March, because they, at that time, went to war on horse back. I The 
Britons continued to fight in cars in the time of Severus, who died 211, 
and the era assigned to the Caledonian bard is the end of that century. 
In the sixth century, from a quotation which Gratianus Lucius inserts, 
we find of the Irish " collecto quando exercitu in curribus et equitibus," 
&c. At this time, they were used also by the Scots. From some Irish 
writers, however, if they can be credited, it would appear that, about the 
epoch of Christianity, the carbad was scarcely known. J Pinkerton 
quotes an " Essai sur I'histoire de Picardie," to show that, so late as 
1182, cars were used in Flanders. 

At the battle of Largs, in 1263, the Scots' horses were provided with 
breastplates.^ It appears, from Nichols' Progresses of James I., that 
the practice of horse racing, now so popular in England, was, about 
that time, introduced from Scotland. In the Harleian MS., No. 681, 
under the year 1593, it is stated that Earl Bothwell was to be at Kelso. 
as the rumor went, " to exercise the runninge and speed of horses." 
In Uist, one of the Western Islands, Martin, who visited them at the 
close of the seventeenth century, informs us there were yearly horseraces. 

The Gauls used dogs in war. Appian relates that a Celtic Ambassa- 
dor's body guard was composed of these trusty animals. The Allobroges 
also kept numbers of them for this service. The Cimbrians having left 
their baggage in the charge of their dogs, they successfully defended it, 
after the defeat of the army.|| The ferocity of the Celtic dogs rendered 
them by no means despicable auxiliaries. Those of the Britons were 
particularly esteemed, and great numbers were sent to Gaul, to be used 
in war, being much superior to the continental breed. I do not find that 
they were used by the Caledonians in battle, but they were kept for the 
purpose of giving notice of the enemy's approach. IT The Scots' dogs 
were famous all over the world for their good qualities. The Romans 
imported great numbers from Britain, not indeed to recruit their armies, 
but for the purpose of hunting.** 

Firearms were introduced to Scotland in the beginning of the four- 
teenth century. Barbour relates their first appearance, along with an- 
other new article, at the siege of Berwick, in 1338: 

* The mh quiescent. + Archseologia Cornu-Britan. 

t Ogygia, p. iii. 280, &c. § Norwegian Account of Haco's expedition 

II Pliny, viii. 40. U Smith's Gall. Ant 

*'* See the " Cynegeticon" of Gratius Falisius, p. 74, «&c. ed. 1728, for the excellence 
of dogs in war and the chase. 



238 PISTOLS. 

" Twa noweltyes that day they saw, 
That forouth in Scotland had been nana , 
Tymmeris for helmys war the tane, 
The tothyr Crakys were of wer." * 

Guns succeeded the ancient catapultae, formerly termed gynes. The 
appellation was retained, the gyne became gun, and the gynour the gun 
ner. The Gaelic gunna seems but a variation of guineach, an arrow, 
or dart, which is derived from guin, a sharp and sudden wound. The 
Highlanders seem never to have made much use of cannon, although 
some castles were provided with them, and the rebel army in 1745 had 
several pieces. Their firelocks were chiefly obtained from the continent, 
for the manufacture does not appear to have been encouraged among 
themselves. The guns of the old Highlanders were long, and of a pecu- 
liar construction, like that represented in the hand of the Gordon in the 
engraving, which is drawn from one of those taken in the last rebellions, 
and now preserved in the armory of the Tower; where is to be seen 
that which belonged to the unfortunate Earl of Mar, curiously and richly 
ornamented with pearl, &c. It is of the time of James VI., and was 
originally a match-lock. 




Of PISTOLS, the Highlanders have long had a peculiar and very beau- 
tiful manufacture.! They are formed entirely of metal, and differ in 
several respects from those of other nations, as may be seen in the en- 
graving. Both were carried on the left side, one being suspended in the 
belt which secured the breacan, and the other in one fastened across the 
right shoulder, to which they were attached by means of a long slide, 
but many now erroneously carry one on the right side. The Highlanders 
were accustomed, after they had discharged their pistols, to throw them 
forcibly at the heads of the enemy, and it must be allowed that a blow 
from so hard a weapon would make no slight impression, but the policy 
of relinquishing either pistols or musket, during an engagement, may 
well be questioned. The Gael alleged that they were relieved of encum- 
brances, and that if they won the battle, they could easily regain their 
arms, and, if defeated, their loss was not of so much consequence, where 
their possession could only incommode them, and retard the sp'^ed of 

* The Bruce, B. xiv.392. 

t Piostal, seems a compound of pios, a piece, the ItaUan pezzo, Spanpie^a, &t Dag 
ii> also a common Gaelic name for a pistol. 



PISTOLS. 239 

retreat. This reasoning, I am afraid, is not altogether satisfactory, but 
the practice was observed at Preston Pans, and at Falkirk, in 1745, 

The manufacture of pistols was introduced in Doune, a village in 
Perthshire, about 1646, by Thomas Caddel, who had acquired the art 
at Muthil, a place in Strathern, from which he removed to Doune, where 
he settled. Caddel taught his children and apprentices, one of whom, 
called John Campbell, was a proficient in his trade; and his son and 
grandson carried on the business, successively, with great advantage. 
The last-named person, who retired from the concern, manufactured 
these pistols to the first nobility of Europe. Prince Ferdinand of Bruns- 
wick, the hereditary Prince of Brunswick, the Duke of Cumberland, 
and others, provided themselves with these elegant articles. John Mur- 
doch, who succeeded Campbell, carried on the manufacture with equal 
credit, and furnished his pistols to many of the nobility and gentry, but 
the demand was much reduced, and Doune has lost its former celebrity 
for the fabrication of Highland pistols, which, at one time, had a superior 
reputation in France, Germany, and other countries. A pair sold at 
from four to twenty-four guineas. A tradesman, who was taught in this 
celebrated school, fabricated a pair, superbly ornamented, which were 
purchased by the magistrates of Glasgow, and presented to the Marquis 
de Boulle.* 

Campbell and Murdoch's pistols are common; Shiel and Caddel's are 
less so; but all are of excellent manufacture. Many pistols bear the 
name of Bisell, and those in the Tower appear all of this person's work, 
which is plainer and less neat than the others. I have observed some 
of the Highland pattern, which bore the names of foreign artisans, as 
Petit Jean, Liege, Stc. They are sometimes highly ornamented with 
silver, gold, and even precious stones, the owner's arms, crest, or motto, 
being usually engraved. The little knob between the scrolls is the top 
of the pricker, which is made to unscrew. 

It is surprising that the pistols and shot pouch, so essential and elegant 
adjuncts to the costume, should not now appear in the dress of Highland 
officers. The policy of depriving them of these useful and ornamental 
appendages to their uniform, is not by any means apparent. 

About seventy years ago, shooting at a mark was a favorite recreation 
of the Highlanders. It was much practised in Aberdeenshire, especially 
about Christmas, and it was the usual method for the decision of all raf- 
fles, or lotteries; but the disarming act brought these amusements to 
decay. The Highland Club of Edinburgh, which cherishes the sports 
and pastimes of the Gael, has annual competitions in various athletic 
and manly exercises; and, at the last meeting, the first prize for rifle 
shooting was awarded to Cluny Mac Pherson, chief of Clan Chattan. 

The Highlanders advanced to an attack with rapidity, and reserved 
their fire until within musket length of the enemy, when they gave a 
general discharge, and threw them down: They then drew their swords, 

* Stat Account, xx. 86. 



240 FIXING OF THE ARMS. 

and, grasping their target, darted with fury on their adversaries, and 
fought in the manner before described. They frequently used the dirk, 
also, in their left hand, in which case the target was borne on the wrist 
An officer of great military experience, in 1745, suggested some means, 
practised by Count Munich against the Turks, to counteract the effect 
of the Celtic weapons and mode of attack, which he thought much supe- 
rior to those of the regular troops. 

On the passing of the disarming act, after 1715, the Highlanders were 
ordered to deliver up all their arms; but it was not difficult, in many cases, 
to evade the operation of the law. The loyal clans were allowed to re- 
tainrarms to protect themselves from the rebels, who, when obliged to 
lay down their weapons, brought all those that were useless, and retain- 
ed most of the serviceable part, which enabled them to take the field, in 
1745. General Wade was appointed to receive the arms and submission 
of the disaffected, in 1724; and, as the Mac Kenzies had been most ac- 
tive in the rising of 1715, they were first called upon, and the inhabit- 
ants of eighteen parishes summoned. They expressed their willingness 
to submit to his Majesty, but requested that their surrender should not 
be in presence of any other clan, but to the King's troops only. Their 
desire was complied with, and they were also allowed to name the place 
where they chose to make their submission. Having selected Castle 
Brahan, the principal seat of their chief, the Marshal proceeded thither 
with 200 men, and was there met by the chieflains of the several tribes, 
who, with their followers, "marched in good order through the great 
avenue, and, one afler another, laid down their arms in the court yard 
in great quiet and decency, amounting to 784 of the several species 
mentioned in the act." The number of weapons of all kinds collected 
during the year was 2685; 230 drovers, foresters, &.c. being licensed to 
retain theirs. 

In concluding this description of the Celtic weapons, some singular 
customs of the ancient Scots may be noticed. It was usual to exchange 
arms with guests for whom they entertained particular respect, or they 
did so as a testimony of sincere friendship, and a pledge of lasting peace. 
Those arms were long preserved, in the different families, as monuments of 
former transactions. " Nor forgot did my steps depart: the chiefs gave 
their shields to Carul; they hang in Col-amon in memory of the past." 
To tell one's name to an enemy, is said to have been deemed an evasion 
of combat, because, when it was known that friendship had formerly 
subsisted between their ancestors, the fight ceased. " I have been re- 
nowned in battle, but I never told my name to a foe. Yield to me, then 
shalt thou know that the mark of my sword is in many a field." 

When a warrior became old, or unfit for the field, he fixed, with cer- 
tain formalities, his armor in the hall or house; and this impressive peri- 
od was called the time of fixing the arms. The last of a race resigned 
his arms to the tutelary guardians of his house. These weapons, with 
the spoils of war, formed the chief ornaments in the dwellings of the 



TOWNS, OR FORTS. 241 

ancient Celts: they continued to grace the walls of castles in after ages, 
and are still displayed in the mansions of those who preserve the ancient 
and imposing style of decoration. The favorite weapons of the Celts 
were distinguished by appropriate appellations. The sword of Fingal 
was called "Mac an Luin," from its celebrated maker Luno. Others 
were denominated " the bird of prey," " the flame of the Druids," &c. 
This practice was common to the Northern nations: in Suhne's History 
of Denmark, the names of several famous swords are preserved. 

The British tribes, at the period of the first Roman descent, appear to 
have been all more or less advanced beyond that state, in which mankind 
are but little superior to the animals with whom they contend for the do- 
minion of the woods, and whose destruction they pursue as a chief means 
of subsistence. Those who, either from choice or ignorance, neglected 
the cultivation of the fertile earth, were not likely to have made much 
advance in architecture, domestic or military. 

In the most early state of society, a natural cave, or an artificial exca- 
vation, is a sufficient protection from the severity of climate, or the pur- 
suit of enemies.* In mild weather, and in the security of peace, the 
savage beings repose and shelter themselves like the animals of the 
forest, on the verdant bank, or beneath. the umbrage of the leafy grove. 

When mankind begin to domesticate the wild herds, their condition 
becomes greatly meliorated. In those primitive ages, the cattle and 
their owners partake of nearly the same accommodation, but the flocks — 
their only riches and means of subsistence — are guarded with the utmost 
solicitude, and in times of danger are protected with the most anxious 
care. For this purpose, fortifications or strongholds are constructed, 
sufficiently large to receive the whole tribe, and the cattle, when threat- 
ened with danger. 

The acquisition of the riches of numerous flocks leads to the division 
of land, and mduces the settlement of a tribe in one place, which is, in 
some measure, restrained from roaming, by the opposition of others, jeal- 
ous of encroachment on their territories. This early association soon 
begins to cultivate a portion of the ground, and hence arises a stronger 
attachment to one position, and a greater necessity for securing the addi- 
tional property that may be acquired, which offers so strong a temptation 
for the attacks of less fortunate, or more ferocious tribes. Thus, in the 
most early ages, arise those places of strength, which are the towns of 
a rude people. Before the epoch of Christianity, the Southern inhab- 
itants of Britain were in this state of civilisation, and, about a century 
afterwards, the Northern clans were found in nearly the same condition 

From the commentaries of Csesar, it has been inferred, that there 
were no towns in this island when he visited it; and from the words of 
Tacitus, who says that the Germans did not live in cities, but settled just 

* Some barrows, or cairns, in Scotland, having been found to contain skeletons in an 
opright posture, they are supposed to have been hiding places for individuals. 
31 



242 FORTIFICATIONS. 

as a field or a fountain might invite, it is supposed that tha people were 
equally destitute of towns. The Celtic race were not, indeed, partial 
to a residence within walls, but they were sufficiently careful to con- 
struct many fortifications which received the name of cities, and, from 
their strength and magnitude, deserved the appellation. Josephus says, 
there were twelve hundred cities in Gaul;* and Ptolemy enumerates 
ninety in Germany. The Semnones inhabited one hundred towns, the 
Suessiones had twelve, and the Nervii had as many.| In Spain, were 
three hundred and sixty; ]] and at the period of the first settlement of the 
Romans in Britain, its Celtic tribes, in England and Wales, possessed 
upwards of a hundred.^ Dio Nicaeus, who flourished in the beginning 
of the third century, says, neither the Caledonians nor Meats had towns, 
or walled forts. They may not, in his meaning; but Tacitus informs us, 
that beyond the Forth were " amplas civitates." There is every reason 
to believe, that, even among the rudest of the Caledonians, there were 
many of those strengths which, in other places, have been dignified by 
the name of cities. The Celts, who constructed their forts as places of 
retreat, were not likely to discover them to enemies, whom they always 
endeavored to meet in the open field; and it is to this principle that we 
must ascribe Coesar's ignorance of those astonishing places, which were 
undoubtedly in existence previous to his arrival in the island. " What 
the Britons call a town," says this accomplished writer, " is a tract of 
woody country, surrounded by a vallum and ditch, for the security of 
themselves and cattle, against the incursions of an enemy; for, when 
they have inclosed a very large circuit with felled trees, they build with- 
in it houses for themselves and hovels for their cattle." In this descrip- 
tion, he is less satisfactory than on other occasions; for it gives no just 
idea of those places. Some were, no doubt, of a rude construction, 
from having been formed in haste, or for temporary occupation; in which 
cases, the thick forests afforded a ready and well-adapted means of rais- 
ing a strong barrier of prostrate trees with an accompanying ditch; but 
the Celtic fort was a work of regular and judicious design, and must ' 
have been executed with prodigious labor. 

The Nervii protected themselves from the attacks of the Roman cav- 
alry by a fence of young trees, bent, and interlaced with brambles and 
thorns. These continuing to grow, and the breadth of the whole being 
considerable, it was a fortification which could not by any means be en- 
tered, or even looked mto. |1 We find Ambiorix, when unexpectedly 
attacked, taking refuge in an edifice environed with wood, which, says 
the same intelligent writer, was the case with most of the dwellings of 
the Gauls, who, in order to avoid the heat, resorted to the neighborhood 
of woods and rivers: hence the Romans carefully avoided the forests, 
where they suffered so much from ambuscades.^ 

* By the Notitia Imperii, there were only 115. Gibbon, i. c. i. 

f Bello Gall. ii. 3. t Pliny. § Whitaker. 

II Bello Gall. ii. c. 17. IT Polybius, iii. 



FORTIFICATIONS. 243 

The Celtic towns were sometimes placed on peninsulas, or construct- 
ed in marshes, difficult of access; but the favorite positions were the 
summits of precipitous elevations, where the natural strength was in- 
creased by ditches and ramparts, sometimes of astonishing magnitude; 
and, notwithstanding Cassar's sarcastic remark, the British and Gallic 
fortresses resisted the continued assaults of the Roman troops — the best 
soldiers in the world; and, although these places were rude and incom- 
modious, compared with the elegant cities of Italy and Greece, yet the 
conquerors themselves repeatedlv acknowledged that they were excellent 
fortifications. The Britons, according to Dio, either inhabited the tops 
of barren mountains, or resided in plains, rendered secure by surround- 
ing marshes. These last do not retain much visible marks of ancient 
inhabitation: * the vestigia of Celtic castrametation are most conspicu- 
ous on the summits of hills, where nature assisted the labors of the 
architect and engineer. In the formation of these intrenchments, the 
plan generally coincided with the figure of the hill, and hence the form 
was usually circular or oblong. Sometimes there were several ditches, 
or embankments, that increased in number and strength where the sides 
were naturally weakest; and the area has frequently one or more divi- 
sions, which are reasonably presumed to have been intended for the 
separate reception of the cattle and inhabitants. The Celtic towns were 
not protected by wooden ramparts only, nor did they occupy a small spot 
of ground. Alesia and Gergovia are represented as surrounded with 
walls of great strength, that appear to have been erected about mid-hill, 
six feet in height, and composed of great stones. "j" 

It being in contemplation among the Gauls to burn Avaricum, the 
Bituriges fell on their knees, praying that they should not be compelled, 
with their own hands, to set fire to a city, the most beautiful nearly of all 
Gaul, and equally an ornament and protection to the State. They rep- 
resented that, from the nature of the place, it could be easily defended, 
being surrounded on all sides by a river and marsh, except where there 
was but one very narrow entrance. After much discussion, their petition 
was granted, and proper persons were appointed to conduct the defence 
of the place. J 

In Britain, the valla § are most commonly of earthwork: sometimes 
they are composed of stones, piled up without mortar; and sometimes 
there is a mixture of both. The renowned Caractacus, or Caradoc, we 
are told, reared huge ramparts of stone around his camp. In Scotland, 
where this material is plentiful, the walls of the ancient forts are most 
commonly built of it. There is sometimes only one entrance; more fre- 
quently there are two; and not seldom, several are observed; all con- 
trived with much art, being rendered secure by traverses. 

* Ambresbury banks, in Essex, are the remains of a Lowland town. Gough's Gan^ 
den, ii. p. 49. t Belle Gall. vii. 43. 

t Belle Gall. vii. 14. § Balk, Gaelic, a wall. 



244 FORTIFICATIONS. 

The Herefordshire Beacon, situated on one of the highest of the 
Malvern hills, is a remarkable specimen of a British hill fort. A steep 
and lofty vallum of earth and stones, with a wide and deep ditch on the 
outside, enclose an irregular oblong space of 175 feet by 1 10. Attachea 
to the principal area are two outworks, lower down the hill, evidently 
adapted for the reception of cattle, horses, or chariots, and several banks 
and ditches guard the acclivity of the hill. In King's Munimenta An- 
tiqua, Stukely's Itinerarium Curiosum, and Hoare's Ancient Wiltshire, 
will be found extended notices, with views of various British towns and 
earthworks. In Scotland, the two Catherthuns in Angus, Barra hill, 
Aberdeenshire, and many others, are singular monuments of the skill of 
the Caledonians, in fortifying the summits of elevated hills, with formi- 
dable earth-works. The magnitude of these valla excites astonishment, 
and we wonder by what means they were raised. The labor of forming 
works so vast, in those rude ages, must have been great, and could only 
be accomplished by the united exertions of whole tribes. A curious ac- 
count of the operation is given by Ccesar. The Nervians surrounded 
their camp, with a line of which the rampart was eleven feet high, and 
the foss fifteen feet deep, and having no other implements, they cut the 
turf with their swords, and digging the earth with their hands, carried it 
away in their cloaks. In less than three hours, they completed a circuit 
of fifteen miles!* 

On a hill, in the parish of Echt, in the county of Aberdeen, is a well 
preserved fastness, the walls of which are formed of stone, without the 
addition of any cement. This fortress is called the Barmekin, a term 
derived from the old word, barme, or bawn, a bank or wall, for the purpose 
of defence, applied, in many instances, to the outer ballium of a fortress. 
The term is used by Gawin Douglas, and in 1509, a charter, given to 
John Grant, of Freuchie, of the lands and fortalice of Urquhart, enjoins 
him to " big the houses with Barmekin walls."! It will be seen, from 
the engraving, that these remains consist of five concentric ramparts 
and intermediate ditches, inclosing an area of 3-47 feet diameter, accord- 
ing to a measurement I took some years ago. The inner wall is the 
most perfect, and is about five feet high, and ten or twelve thick at the 
base. The others appear to have been of nearly similar dimensions, and 
the exterior was formed with large flat stones, pitched edgewise, in man- 
ner of a casing, to strengthen and secure the smaller ones in the body 
of the wall. Large stones are also observable on each side the open- 
ings, by which access was obtained to the interior, and which are six 
or eight feet wide. Extended lines, the remains of walls, run a con- 
siderable way towards the north, accompanied by tumuli, and the ves- 
tigia of stone circles. {See engraving on next page.) 

In Ireland similar remains are found. On the top of Gauir Conrigh, 
a high mountain near Tralee, is a circular inclosure of stones, piled on 

* Bello Gall. v. c. 34. t Harl. MS. 4134, 



CONSTRUCTION OF WALLS. 



246 



each other, some of which measure ten cubical feet, and the hill being 
very steep, it is matter of wonder how they could have been conveyed 
to their elevated situation. 




In Gaul, the art of fortification was well understood. The Celtae, 
when they contended for their liberties with the Romans, were not al- 
ways actuated by that feeling which leads a rude and gallant people to 
despise artificial protection, and prefer contention in the open plain. In 
Gaul, were numerous towns, constructed as in Britain, on the summits 
of the steepest and most inaccessible heights, and they were formed with 
so much care and strength, that they seemed impregnable, and cost the 
Roman Generals exceeding trouble to reduce. A description of the walls 
is given by Caesar, who does not hesitate to bestow his unqualified praise 
on their skilful erection. " The valla are formed," says he, " of long 
beams driven mto the ground, at two feet distance from each other, 
which are bound together in the inside with stout planks, and farther 
strengthened by an earthen bank. The intervals on the outside, or 
face of the wall, are filled up with several courses of large stones, well 
cemented with mortar, a way of building beautiful and efficient, that 
resisted both fire and the battering ram, and could neither be broken 
through nor drawn asunder."* 

In Celtiberia were a sort of walls reared by filling a wooden frame 
* Bello Gall. vii. c. 12. 



246 VITRIFICATIONS. 

with earth or clay.* When Caesar led his army towards the Alps, the 
inhabitants of Larignum, trusting to the natural strength of the place, 
and the efficiency of their fortifications, refused to surrender; the empe 
ror, therefore, ordered it to be assaulted, and, after an obstinate defence, 
the city was finally reduced. That which the inhabitants chiefly relied 
on, when they resolved to resist the Roman arms, was a tower, said to 
have been erected before the gate of the castle, and constructed of al- 
ternate beams, raised in manner of a pyre, and carried so high that it 
commanded the whole place. From this tower stakes, stones, and other 
missiles, were unremittingly hurled on the besiegers, who, on their part, 
strenuously endeavored to set it on fire. This mode of attack having 
no effect, it was stormed; when they learned that the fort was built oi 
certain trees, very difficult to be burned, that grew plentifully in the 
neighborhood, and were called larigna, from which the place received 
its name.t 

Those singular remains, known in Scotland by the name of Duns, are 
curious monuments of the skill of the ancient inhabitants in military 
architecture. I do not here confine myself to those round towers of 
admirable structure, distinguished by this appellation, which, although 
undoubtedly erected as places of defence, will more appropriately be 
described in the following Chapter. The vestigia of the aboriginal for- 
tresses are called Raths by the Irish, and both terms anciently denoted 
a precipitous elevation, the natural site of Celtic strongholds. In like 
manner, the Latin arx signified both the top of a hill and a castle; and 
ban, that denoted a wall for defence, is still applied by the native Irish 
to a mount. 

The term dun, originally applied to the site of a fastness of whatever 
construction, was given to those astonishing works peculiar to Scotland, 
and distinguished by their formation from all others. 

The VITRIFIED FORTS havc excited a great degree of curiosity, and 
must continue to be objects of wonder, from their magnitude and singu- 
lar construction. The dry stonewalls of the original hill fort were, by a 
process of vitrification, rendered a mass of impregnable rock; but the 
means used to effect this change, can only be guessed at. These forts 
appear to have been first noticed, in a scientific manner, by John Wil- 
liams, mineral surveyor, in 1771, since which time various essays have 
appeared, in different publications, with a view to determine the manner 
by which the singular appearance of these remains was produced. The 
walls, or masses of rampart, consist of stones, of various sizes, that have 
been at one time in a state of semi-fusion, and are consequently so very 
hard, that it is necessary to use force to detach any part. This mode 
of building, which seems confined to Scotland, is so different from all 
others, that it could not fail to engage the attention of antiquaries; and 
'he difficulty of accounting for the formation of these walls, led many to 

Pliny, XXXV. 14. t Vitruvius Archit. ii. c. 9. 



VITRIFICATIONS. 247 

believe them produced by lightning, while some have considered them 
the craters of exhausted volcanoes;* and others have concluded that 
they were vitrified by accidental conflagration.! It seems agreed that 
the people who raised these works, were ignorant of the use of lime or 
other cement; and it is not improbable, that accidental conflagration may 
have at first given the hint for so peculiar a mode of architecture; but 
whether a process like the burning of kelp, or the addition of any par- 
ticular substance to the part exposed to the heat, produced the fusion of 
the mass, is not known. It has been conjectured, that vast defences of 
wood may have surrounded the ramparts by the casual burning of which 
they were vitrified; but this supposition is as objectionable as others, 
even although, in some instances, the walls may have been exposed to 
the heat on one side only. In no buildings that have been destroyed by 
fire, are effects observable at all similar to these vitrifications. 

A letter appeared in the Edinburgh Magazine, for September, 1787, 
written, as Pinkerton tells us he was informed, by the learned George 
Dempster, on the authority of Gordon's MS. History of the Sutherland 
Family, which Sir Robert Sibbald seems to have seen, J and its tenden- 
cy is to reduce the supposed antiquity of these forts by many ages. It 
is there said that Dun Criech, in Sutherland, was built by one Paul 
Mac Tyre, between 1275 and 1297, a hero whose history is allowed, even 
by the writer, to savor more of fable than reality, the stories concerning 
him being believed only "amongst the vulgar people." He is said to 
have used a " kynd of hard mortar." It would be more satisfactory 
were it proved that he had any hand in its erection. 

The Castle of Dun'a deer, in the district of Gariach, Aberdeenshire. 
is a curious vestige of vitrification. Dr. Anderson, who bestowed con- 
siderable attention to the investigation of these remains, says the mas- 
ses in this Dun are the firmest he had ever met with. He accompanies 
a long and minute description with accurate plans and views, § adhering 
to the belief that vitrifications were produced by artificial process. The 
opinion that this ruin, and the more wonderful ramparts on the summit 
of Noth, several miles westward, are volcanic remains, is scarcely en- 
titled to notice. The rock, on which Dun'a deer stands, is a sort of 
slate which, I believe, is never found in decayed craters. The ruins 
cover the summit of a beautiful green hill, and formerly consisted of a 
double court of building, inclosed by a massy rampart and two wide 
trenches, strengthened with additional works where naturally weakest. 
These latter parts are now very imperceptible; but forty-two feet of the 
western wall, in the interior building, is about thirty feet high, and ten 
or twelve thick. So complete a fragment induces Dr. Anderson to think 

" Phil. Trans. 1777, Part ii. No. 20. Robert Riddel, Esq. F. S. A. Archteo. x. 100. 
Hon. Daines Barrington. Ibid. vi. 101. 

t Chalmers in " Caledonia." Titler in Phil. Trans. Edin. 
t Vera Scot. Descript. MS. in Lib. Advoc. Edin. 
§ ArchBBO. and The Bee, Vols. ix. and x. 



248 VITRIFICATIONS. 

that the upper part was built on the site of a more ancient structure ; yet, 
from personal observation, I am inclined to believe that all the walls are 
of equal antiquity. A heat, sufficient to vitrify the base of the walls, 
might not affect the upper part in a similar way; but if it was a later 
erection, it is difficult to account for the appearance; for the building is 
square, a form, I believe, unknown in any other vitrification; in some 
parts, also, we perceive ashler work, and portions of other good mason- 
ry. If this building was submitted to the above process, it is, perhaps, 
one of the latest instances: Dun'a deer was a royal residence, and it is 
a historic fact, that Gregory the Great died here in 892. 

The following extracts from Dr. Anderson's communication to the 
Society of Antiquaries, in 1777, respecting these most remarkable of 
all Scotish Antiquities, will be found interesting; but his curious theory 
is not quite satisfactory. 

The first fortification of this kind, which he examined, is situated on 
the top of a steep hill, called Knockferrel, two miles west of Dingwall, 
in Ross-shire; and, as he observes, an idea of others may be formed from 
a description of this one: it is, in most respects, applicable to that of 
Noth, The fort is placed on the ridge of an oblong shaped hill, very 
steep on three sides, the walls being raised on the edge of a precipice 
all round, except the end where you can enter the area; the inclosed 
space of nearly an acre being almost level. It is to be observed, that, 
in all these forts, the places where it is possible to approach the walls, 
are strengthened by additional lines of rampart, and here both ends had 
been so guarded. "Those at the entry," says the doctor, "had ex- 
tended, as I guessed, about one hundred yards, and seem to have con- 
sisted of cross walls, one behind another, eight or ten in number; the 
ruins of which are still plainly perceptible. Through each of these 
walls there must have been a gate, so that the besiegers would have 
been under the necessity of forcing each of these gates successively 
before they could carry the fort: on the opposite end of the hill, as the 
ground is considerably steeper, the outworks seem not to have extended 
above twenty yards. Not far from the further end was a well now filled 
up. The wall, all round from the inside, appears to be only a mound 
of rubbish, consisting of loose stones; — the vitrified wall is only to be 
seen on the outside. It appears, at first sight, surprising, that a rude 
people should have been capable of discovering a cement of such a sin- 
gular kind as this is; but it is no difficult matter, for one who is acquaint- 
ed with the nature of the country where these structures abound, to 
give a very probable account of the manner in which this art has been 
orifinally discovered, and of the causes that have occasioned the know- 
ledge of it to be lost. Through all the Northern parts of Scotland, a 
particular kind of earthy iron ore, of a very vitrescible nature, much 
abounds. This ore might have been accidentally mixed with some stones 
at a place where a great fire was kindled, and, being fused by the heat, 



FORTRESSES. 249 

would cement the stones into one solid mass, and give the first hint of 
the uses to which it might be applied. — The wall of Knockferrel all round 
is covered on the outside with a crust of about two feet in thickness, con- 
sisting of stones immersed among vitrified matter: some of the stones be- 
ing half fused themselves — all of them having evidently suffered a con- 
siderable heat. The crust is of an equal thickness of about two feet, 
from the top to the bottom, so as to lie upon, and be supported by, a 
backing of loose stones, forming, in section, an acute angle. Within 
the crust of vitrified matter, is another stratum, of some thickness, paral- 
lel to the former, which consists of loose stones, which have been scorch- 
ed by the fire, but discover no marks of fusion." The doctor believes, 
that the wall being raised, and the interstices filled full of the vitrescible 
ore, " nothing more was necessary to give it the entire finishing, but to 
kindle a fire all round it sufficiently intense to melt the ore, and thus to 
cement the whole into one coherent mass, as far as the influence of the 
heat extended." 

By whatever process the walls were thus strengthened, all these 
works are, in every respect, except the vitrification, similar to other hill 
forts ; both are situated on eminences, both have the usual appendages 
of wells, circles, tumuli, roads, &c., and both have ramparts formed of 
stone, without cement. 

In the elaborate work of Mr. King, various castles in England, of un- 
known antiquity, are asserted to be the work of ages long anterior to the 
Saxon invasion. This writer indulges his favorite hypothesis in assign- 
ing several of these structures "to Phoenician settlers, or some other 
foreigners from the east," but he allows that the Britons may have also 
erected them. The instances which he adduces are unlike all castellations 
of the Romans, or any other known invaders of this island; and we may 
safely believe that they were constructed by the Celtic inhabitants while 
they retained their independence. These buildings are generally situ- 
ated in secluded parts of the country, on elevations difficult of access, 
and it may be consequently presumed, that they would long escape the 
destructive assaults of the sordid spoliator. To demolish bulwarks so 
solid and massy, would have been a work of labor equal to that of their 
erection. In assigning any building to the early Britons, it must in- 
deed be observed that no positive demonstration of the fact can be giv- 
en, nor any certain date ascribed to a ruin, yet the peculiar style of 
these castellations, different from all the varieties adopted in known pe- 
riods, gives them a reasonable claim to high antiquity. 

Before dismissing the subject of the military erections of the Southern 
Celts, it may be desirable to describe some of those castellated remains 
that are supposed to be of British origin, but are of unknown date. 
Of these, Launceston castle, in Cornwall, described in the Beauties for 
that county, is a curious example. On the top of a conical hill of great 
height, is a round keep or tower, the walls of which are ten feet in thick- 

32 



250 METHODS OF DEFENCE. 

ness, while the clear area does not exceed eighteen feet and a half in 
diameter. This tower is surrounded by three concentric walls of stone, 
a fourth having been carried round the base of the rock on which the 
castle is placed. The erection of this edifice must have been attended 
with much laborious exertion. 

Castell Corndochon, situated on the summit of a high rock, near 
Snowdon, and some remains at Caerleon, in Wales, are attributed by 
Mr. King to British attempts, in imitation of Roman architecture; and 
Carn-bre in Cornwall, is supposed to have been erected by the natives 
before the conquerors had finally evacuated the island. Brynllys castle, 
in the county of Brecknock, being situated in a district which does not 
afford a rocky elevation like that on which Launceston is planted, is 
built of peculiar strength, its base assuming the appearance of an artifi- 
cial mount of stone. It is to be observed, that in most of the ancient 
castellated buildings throughout England and Wales, innovations have 
been made by successive occupiers, which the architectural critic can 
easily distinguish from the original work. A perusal of the " Introduc- 
tion to the Beauties of England and Wales," or the study of Mr. Brit- 
ton's works on English architecture, will enable any one to discriminate 
the styles that prevailed in different ages. 

The vast intrenchments which the Celts threw up, and the massy walls 
which they reared in places the most difficult of access, which still re- 
main the wonderful monuments of their skill and labor, attest the care 
which they bestowed on the construction of strongholds, capable of re- 
sisting the assaults of an enemy. These people had, mdeed, an aver- 
sion to a residence in towns, yet were they not inattentive to their utili- 
ty, and sometimes, by necessity, they were compelled to retire to them, 
where they defended themselves by various means, with desperate reso- 
lution, raising walls, towers, galleries, and other works, which struck 
their enemies with admiration. When besieged in the city of Avaricum, 
or Bourges, where the Romans assaulted them with incredible bravery, 
they behaved with a resolution and activity that long baffled the attempts 
of their enemies. With long ropes they turned aside the hooks of the 
besiegers, and when they caught them, they drew them into the town by 
means of engines. They also endeavored to undermine the mount 
which was raised against the walls, and by various contrivances and in- 
cessant exertions, rendered the efforts of the Romans ineffectual. They 
raised towers on all parts of their ramparts, and covered them very 
carefully with raw hides, to prevent their combustion; and, continuing 
their sallies, day and night, they either set fire to the mount, or fell on 
the workmen and put them to flight. As the Roman towers increased 
in height, so they diligently raised those on the walls — continually add- 
mg one story after another, to prevent being overtopped. They also 
counterworked the mines; sometimes filling them up with large stones, 
sometimes pouring scalding pitch on the miners, or attacking them with 



DISLIKE TO TOWNS. 251 

long stakes burned and sharpened at the ends.* Coesar observes, that, 
from working in their mines, they were very dexterous in sapping and 
overthrowing the mounts and towers which were raised against them. 
With that ingenuity and aptitude to learn, by which they were charac- 
terized, they soon imitated the Romans, and began to understand . 
this part of mihtary tactics. In the time of ViteUius, says Tacitus, the 
Germans used the battering ram, an expedient altogether new to them, 
but a people who could fortify their towns with such admirable art, were 
not likely to be altogether deficient in the practice of assaulting them. 
The Celtoe and Belgge, we learn from Csesar, used the same methods in 
attacking a town; they surrounded the walls, and never ceased throwing 
stones by means of their numerous slingers, until they had swept the be 
sieged off the walls; when, casting themselves into a testudo, they ap- 
proached the gate. The Caledonians had long hooks wherewith they 
dragged the unhappy soldiers from the wall of Severus. When the 
Gauls, under Ambiorix, attacked Cicero's camp, they threw hot clay 
bullets and heated darts among the Romans. 

Notwithstanding the remains of so many intrenchments, constructed 
with amazing strength, and dispersed all over the island, it is certain 
that the Celtae placed more dependence on their personal valor than 
the strength of ramparts. Towns were objects of aversion with these 
oeople, as places of permanent residence; but the safety of their wives 
and their children, and the security of their flocks, required fortifica 
tions. In these retreats, the warriors must have spent the time, which 
was not occupied in war, or hunting, along with their families, and de- 
posited the property which they possessed; but society was too barba- 
rous for a settled life, and when their territories were invaded, the war- 
riors marched out with alacrity to repel the aggression. It was an 
unfortunate circumstance, if surprised in their retreats; and, to prevent 
this, they used every precaution. "They avoided the towns as dens 
and places beset with nets and toils, "f conceiving, that, to trust for safety 
in the defence of fortifications, was inimical to personal valor, and in- 
jurious to warlike renown. When the Tencteri sent ambassadors to the 
people of Cologne, exhorting them to resume their ancient manners, 
from which the Romans had induced them to depart, " Demolish the walls 
of your city, these ramparts of your servitude," say they; "for even 
beasts, that are naturally wild and savage, if confined, are brought to for- 
get their boldness and vigor." J In a general council of Gauls, it was 
determined to destroy their towns, and in one day more than twenty of 
those in the state of the Bituriges were burned.^ The use of machines, 
without which places of strength cannot be attacked, or well defended, 
increases in proportion to the declension of personal valor, of which the 
Romans fu rnish a striking example. The Celts despised these means 
* Bello Gall. ii. t Amm. Mar. xvi. 1. 

X Tac. Annals, iv. § Bello Gall. vii. 14 



252 DUNS, OR SIGNAL TOWERS. 

of conquest, although they had sufficient ingenuity to construct them. 
The Muc of the Gael was like the Pluteus; it was moved on three 
wheels, and was covered with twigs, hair cloth, and raw hides. 

As the Celts, however, disliked standing a siege, so they had no great 
inclination, and seldom much success, in attacking a city. On one occa- 
sion, they closely invested Agrippina, in which the Emperor Julian lay» 
with only a few troops; but this part of the science of war required more 
time than their impatience would allow, and, after thirty days, they retir- 
ed, " muttering quietly among themselves the regret, that vainly and 
foolishly they had ever thought of besieging the city."* The army of 
the heroic Bonduica studiously avoided attacking the Roman forts. 

The Duns in Scotland were generally constructed within sight of each 
other, that an intimation of danger might be speedily conveyed through- 
out the country. The signal was fire, which was also kindled on cairns, 
or heaps of stones raised on eminences for that purpose. According to 
Irish chronicles, certain persons were appointed to attend to these fires, 
that were also lighted for the guidance of mariners. Martin speaks of 
numerous cairns in the Isles, on which the " warning flame" was raised 
by burning heath, a sentinel being stationed at each, to give notice of 
invasion or other danger; and the steward of the Isles made frequent 
rounds to inspect these stations. If he found any of the watchmen 
asleep, he stripped them of their clothes; but their personal punishment 
was the prerogative of the chief 

In the Duns, a sentinel, called Gockman, was placed, says Dr. Mac- 
pherson, who called out at intervals to show his vigilance; and, accord- 
ing to the Celtic practice, he was obliged to deliver all his information 
in rhymes: a large horn, full of spirits, stood by his side, probably for 
the inspiration of his muse. Martin describes Mac Niel's castle, in the 
isle of Kismul, near Barra, on the top of which one of these watchmen 
was stationed night and day. There was, besides, a constable who ex- 
ecuted his trust so faithfully, that Martin could not, by any entreaty, 
gain access to the building. These men had their perquisites very 
punctually paid at two terms, and it is not above a century since the cus- 
tom was disused. 

Thus much it has been thought proper to say in this place of the Cel- 
tic methods of constructing their strongholds. The arts of castrameta- 
tion and architecture are so closely allied in that state of society in which 
the Celts so long remained, that it was impossible entirely to disjoin them 
in the foregoing notices. With a rude, martial, and unsettled people, 
architecture can make but slow advances, and its origin is the effort of 
untutored man, to defend himself from the rage of his enemies. The 
Celts fortified the summits of precipitous elevations by earth works, by 
rude stone walls and wooden ramparts, before they were able to raise 

* Amni. Mar. xvi 



FORTIFICATIONS. 



253 



the skllfullv-constructed walls which surrounded the towns of Gaul and 
Britain. The Gael piled up a bulwark of rough stones, before they 
could form tne vitrifications and circular duns which so powerfully excite 
our admiration, and they exerted their architectural skill as military en- 
gineers, and for the general welfare before it was employed for domes- 
tic purposes or personal comfort. 





CHAPTER VIII. 



OF THE ARCHITECTURE OF THE CELTS. 



In the art of castrametation, it has been shown that the early Celts 
were by no means deficient. The state of society gave but little en- 
couragement to the study of domestic architecture among these nations, 
and the simplicity of their lives did not require the conveniences afford- 
ed by this useful and ornamental science. 

The little huts of the Gauls and the Britons were adapted to the wants 
of the people, but they were of too slight a construction to leave any very 
perceptible remains. The occupations of the pastoral life did not require 
the erection of permanent habitations: in perambulating a country, it is 
useless to bestow much labor on a building that must be soon abandon- 
ed. The freedom of a strolling life is congenial to untutored man. The 
Fenns, Tacitus says, sheltered themselves with the branches of trees, 
preferring this rude and cheerless state of existence to the painful occu- 
pations of agriculture, of constructing houses, and the continual trouble 
of defending their property. 

Ccssar describes Britain as abounding in houses. Dio says the Cale- 
donians lived in tents, meaning the simple booth of wattles, thatched 
with rushes, of which Strabo gives a particular description. The houses 
ot the Britons, says he, are of a round form, constructed of poles and 
wattled work, with very high pointed roofs, the beams uniting at top. 
Diodorus says, for the most part they were covered with reeds or straw, 



SCOTISH ARCHITECTURE. 255 

materials of which the Carthaginians formed their tents.* We find that 
the houses of the Gauls and Britons were composed of wood, and the 
use of tiles and mortar being unknown, they were plastered with clay, 
or a sort of red earth, which was latterly procured in England. Vitru- 
vius says, that in Gaul, Spain, and Lusitania, the houses were made of 
oak, shingles, and straw. | Certain reeds were used in Gaul as a cover- 
ing for the houses; and, if well put on, Pliny says this sort of roof 
would last for ages, and it had this valuable property besides, according 
to Aristotle, that it was not easily consumed by fire. A sort of stone 
was also applied to this purpose, and is at this day used under the name 
of Knappstein, or pierre de liais, on the continent. It is of a white 
color, and is cut as easily as timber; and being sometimes very gaudy, 
the houses were called Pavonacea, from a supposed resemblance to pea- 
cocks' feathers. J 

Wood is a material so convenient for architectural purposes, that it 
has been much employed even where necessity did not compel its adop- 
tion. Throughout Britain and Ireland many considerable edifices have 
been reared of timber in periods comparatively recent. In the ninth 
century, the houses in the Highlands of Scotland were usually of wattle 
work, and the residences of the chiefs were frequently built in the same 
manner. We find one Gillescop in 1228 burning many wooden castles 
in Moray. Strong bulwarks were often constructed of apparently slight 
materials. Gir. Cambrensis relates, that in the reign of Hen I., Ar- 
nulph de Montgomery founded a castle at Pembroke, the rampart of 
which was formed of osiers and turf. The chief residence of the kings 
of Wales was called the White Palace, from its appearance, having 
been built of wands with the bark peeled off. A sort of wattle work, or 
combination of twigs or prepared wood and earth or clay, was a common 
mode of building among the Gael, both of Albin and Erin, and was 
known as " the Scotish fashion." Of this manner of building was that 
church erected in 652 by Finan, Bishop of Lindisfarne, composed wholly 
of sawn oak, covered with reeds. § 

The Scots were, indeed, the first native architects who invented the 
method of squaring timber, and applying it to large and public edifices, jj 
In this way the first church at lona was built, as well as numerous others, 
descriptions of which do not exist. In 1172, when St. Bernard describes 
a stone church in Ireland as a novelty, Henry II. was entertained at 
Dublin in a long wattle house, built, we are told, after the fashion of the 
country. William of Malmesbury speaks of a church in his time formed 
of rods or wicker, and a MS. in the British Museum says that the reli- 
gious edifices were all at first formed " ex virgatis torquatis." 

Sir James Hall, in his learned and ingenious work on the origin of 
gothic architecture, which he believes is derived from the osier edifices, 
has shown the progress of this beautiful style, and collected many curi- 

* Lib. XX. 3. t Lib. ii. L t Hist. Nat. Tome xii. p. 66, 4to. edit. 1782. 

§ Bade, Eccles. Hist. iii. c. 25. 1| Pownall in Archaeologia, ix. iii. 



256 ETYMOLOGIES. 

ous facts, illustrative of the primitive manner of building, described by 
Bade as "in more Scotorum," of which a curious specimen exists at this 
day in the church of Grenestede, in the county of Essex. One thousand 
oaks from the mountains formed the hall of Crothar, an Irish chief, but 
none of the houses of Fingal were of wood, it is said, except Tifiormal, 
the great hall, where the bards met annually to repeat their compositions. 
By some accident it was burnt; and an ancient pcet has left a curious 
catalogue of its furniture.* 

The Gael have not relinquished the ancient mode of constructing 
houses. In many parts it is still common, but it is not so generally pre- 
valent as formerly. Spelman, who lived in the middle of the sixteenth 
century, says, wicker houses were the common habitations of the Irish. 
The Rapparee, in the time of King William III., lived in a hut, formed 
by means of a few branches of trees, one end being stuck in the ground, 
and the other resting on a mud wall or bank. The common people had 
also cabins, formed entirely of wattle work, with a coating of clay; and 
these rude hovels, which Sir W. Petty says could be built in three days, 
were held of the superior from May to May. In Jurah and other islands 
of the Hebudse, the cottages are still chiefly constructed of these fragile 
materials, and in many parts of the main land of Scotland the same 
manner is followed. It is found comfortable for dwelling houses, and is 
extremely well adapted for barns, and other edifices attached to farms. 

The humble dwelling of the ancient tribes was called in the British 
tongue, bod, or bwth, which signifies a cottage or dwelling. In Gaelic, 
bothan is a cottage, and is particularly applied to the slight buildings 
raised for summer residence in the hills. These different Celtic words 
show the origin of the English booth, and were applied to the simple 
dwelling which also received the names of tent and hut. The transla- 
tors of Ossian render this word by different terms: " The hunter shall 
hear from his booth," " No hut receives me from the rain," &c. 

If the residence of the Briton was on a plain, it was called Lann, from 
Lagen or Logan, an inclosed plain or lying place. If on an eminence, it 
was termed Dun, the origin of the Latin dunum, which terminates the 
names of so many Celtic towns. Durum indicated the position to be on 
the banks of a stream. Magus is apparently from magh, a plain, and 
Bona may be from boun, round. 

Aiteach, a habitation, is derived from the Gaelic ait, a place, whence 
the Greek uidiu, and. the Latin aedes. Peillichd in Gaelic, and peillic 
in Cornish, signify a hut made of earth and branches of trees. "}" This 
term comes from feile or peile, a skin or covering, which is the origin of 
the English fell, felt, and many others. The Latin domus seems derived 
from domh, a dwelling. 

It has been before observed that the roving life of the Celts did not 
require the erection of permanent habitations. The hill forts were 
known places of retreat in time of danger: on other occasions, the tribes 

* Mac Pherson, note on Ossian. t Armstrong and Pryce. 



PICTISH HOUSES. 267 

/ormed their rude tents more for the purpose of temporary shelter than 
as fixed places of residence. 

This was indeed in the most early ages, but long after they began to 
relish the sweets of a more civilized life, their dwellings remained rude 
and unimposing. The residences of the aboriginal British chiefs are de- 
scribed by Whitaker as formed of wood, the dwelling house and attend- 
ant offices forming a quadrangular court; he, however, notices the ruins 
of some stone buildings discovered at Manchester and Aldborough, of a 
square form, the walls being two yards broad and one deep, composed 
of three layers of common paving stone, on which were laid a tier of 
larger blocks, all cemented with clay. 

The square form of these ruins certainly bears little indication of a 
British origin. The Celts adhered to the circular plan, at least while 
independent: on the subjugation of the Southern tribes they were induc- 
ed to abandon their native manners, and imitate those of their conquer- 
t)rs, and their houses, we know from Tacitus, were then built after the 
models of the Romans. 

Stone work is, however, no proof that ruins are not British. We are 
informed by the Welsh antiquaries that Morddal Gwr Gweilgi, mason to 
Ceraint ap Greidiawl, first taught the Britons to work in stone and mor- 
tar; * but the chronicles of that nation stretch too far into the regions 
of fable to receive unhesitating credence to all their relations. It would 
appear from Henry of Huntingdon, "f" that stone buildings were not very 
common in the Principality before the reign of Edward the First, but the 
natives were certainly able to construct such edifices. 

In all parts of the island where stone was abundant, it may be safely 
presumed that the substructure of the primitive hut was composed of it. 
Small circular vestigia are to be seen on the muirs in most parts of Scot- 
land that are certainly the remains of the Celtic booths. They are 
sometimes in considerable numbers, and often appear within the area of 
fortifications. J A remarkable instance occurs in Cornwall, and is no- 
ticed in the " Beauties" for that county. The diameter of the ancient 
houses of the Caledonians is usually about nine yards, but some are con- 
siderably larger, and the door was invariably made to face the rising sun. 
In Glen Urquhart, near Lochness, these foundations are numerous, and 
one is observable called the Castle, which is much larger than any of 
the others. There is also one which has a double concentric wall, evi- 
dently intended to form separate apartments. Many similar remains are 
also to be seen in the neighborhood of Fort George, or Ardnasoeur. 

The current tradition is, that these are the remains of the houses of 
the Picts. In Gaelic, they are denominated Larach tai § Draonich, the 
foundations of the houses of a Draoneach, which has led to the belief that 
they were the dwellings of Druids. This arises from the similarity of the 

* Roberts' Early Hist, of the Curari. t Book iv. 126. 

t These places were called Longphorts, or camps, by the Irish, from long, a field tent. 
§ Or taod, i. e. tai f hod, rubbish of a house. 

33 



258 PICTISH HOUSES. 

term to that of Druinich, which signifies a Druid, but it is obvious that 
that order was not so numerous as to require so many houses. Some 
circular remains in the Isle of Sky and elsewhere, so small as only to be 
sufficient for the residence of a single individual, may have indeed been 
the houses of Druids,* and in Tai nan Druinish retain their proper 
name, but the true signification of Draoneach is a cultivator of the soil, 
a term which the inhabitants of the Eastern parts of Scotland, where 
agriculture was first practised, received from their neighbors in the High- 
lands, who continued a pastoral people. 

Whether Draonaich be the origin of Cruithnaich, the name which the 
Irish gave to the Picts, it is certain that the latter people were distin- 
guished from their brethren of the hills whom they termed the Scuit or 
Scaoit, from moving about with their flocks; and it is no less true that 
cultivators of the soil are to this day called Draonaich by the Gael. It 
is a proof that the inhabitants of these houses employed themselves in 
cultivating the earth, and consequently erected edifices calculated for 
some duration, that in scarcely any instance are they unaccompanied by 
evident marks of surrounding cultivation. 

Another curious group of these unobtrusive ruins is found in the pa- 
rish of Dalmsek, Aberdeenshire, and points out, as there appears every 
reason to believe, the site of Devana, the capital of the Taixali. A 
notice of this remarkable place was communicated to the Society of 
Scots Antiquaries, by the late Professor Stuart, of Marishall college, 
who describes the remains as amounting to some hundred individual 
circles, two or three feet high, and from twelve to twenty or thirty feet 
in diameter, scattered over a space of more than a mile in extent. The 
numbers of these observable in one place, evince that it must have been 
a settlement or permanent residence. Some care, it may be observed, 
is requisite to discriminate the site of a Celtic town, for many remains, 
presenting a similar appearance, may be referred to military encamp- 
ments of more recent times. 

The arrangement of the huts was made apparently without much de- 
sign. The Germans, according to Tacitus, placed their houses in oppo- 
site rows, each having a certain clear space around it. In one of the 
bardic poems we are informed that twelve were the houses in the camp 
of Fingal, and twelve were the fires in each house. This seems to prove 
that there was a settled order among the Gael. The disposition of the 
booths or tents within the area of a fortification was probably left to a 
certain individual who acted as quarter-master: such an officer in the 
Highlands appears to have had a power of regulating the position of the 
vassals' huts. This member of their establishment was retained by most 
of the chiefs in the beginning of the last century, and he was entitled^ 
among other perquisites, to the hides of all animals that were killed. 

The royal palace of Wales was surrounded by lesser edifices, consti- 
tuting the kitchen, dormitory, chapel, granary, storehouse, bakehouse, 

* Martin, p. 154. 



SUBTERRANEOUS ABODES. 269 

stable, and dog house. Whoever burnt or otherwise destroyed the pal- 
ace, was obliged to pay one pound and eighty pence; and the fine for 
each of the other houses was a hundred and twenty pence, a total of jE5: 
6s: 8d. or about £160 of our money. 

In the infancy of society, natural caverns are used as hiding places 
during war, and repositories for grain or other valuable articles. That 
the britons availed themselves of such places of retreat there can be no 
reason to doubt, and that they improved the work of nature is evident 
from many curious remains. Several caves in the Western Islands, 
and throughout Britain, contain places for the purpose of cooking, seats 
hewn in the natural I'ock, &c. ; and some are not only well lighted, but 
are divided into various apartments. 

Subterraneous abodes seem to have been invariably selected for secre- 
tion by primitive nations. Josephus mentions them in Galilee, and during 
the Crusades the inhabitants retired to them for security. The Cimmerii 
lived in caverns under ground, and the Germans, in winter, retreated to 
caves covered with dung, where they also deposited their grain.* Even 
in the time of Kirchurus, they occasionally lived in such places, and 
there the gipsies of that country still pass their winters. 

The singular caves at Hawthornden, near Edinburgh, have at differ- 
ent periods afforded a safe and not uncomfortable retreat to the celebrat- 
ed Alexander Ramsay, Dunbar, Haliburton, and others. A remarkable 
cave was discovered at Auxerre in 1735; | and in Picardy, a vast exca- 
vation in form of a St. Andrew's cross was laid open. J The subterra- 
nean works and caverns of the Britons may be seen near Blackheath 
and Crayford in Kent, at Royston, in Hertfordshire, in Essex, in Corn- 
wall, near Guilford, at Nottingham, and in other parts. A curious place 
of this sort was recently discovered near Grantham, hewn out of the 
white stone rock, in the interior of which was found a hand mill, with 
wheat and barley of a black color and apparently mixed with ashes 
The great cavern in Badenoch, where nine of the principal men of the 
Cumins were slain by Alexander Macpherson, commonly called the Re- 
vengeful, is thirty feet square and ten high. Curious subterraneous 
edifices are to be seen in many parts of Ireland, and generally within 
the area of fortifications. Tlie side walls are usually formed of large 
stones pitched on end, the roof being covered with horizontal slabs. In 
many cases the roof is formed by several stones, each overlapping the 
other until a small space is left, which is covered by one of a larger size, 
thus forming a rude sort of arch. Some of these curious structures are 
of considerable dimensions, and are divided into different apartments or 
cells. § That some may have been places of sepulture is not improbable, 
but their general use was for the deposition of the grain and other valu- 

* Tacitus. Mela. t Le Beuf, Divers Ecrits, i. p. 290. 

t Mem de I'Acad. des Inscriptions, ap. Pinkerton. 

§ A view and plan of a singular remain of this kind at Annaclough Mullach, Kils- 
levy, Armagh, is given in ArchcBologia. 



:260 DUNS. 

able effects of the natives, and the occasional secretion of themselves in 
troublous times. It was a well known practice of the Celtic nations to 
construct such places as granaries, and Varro describes them as often 
very spacious and admirably adapted for the purpose.* 

In the North of Scotland, numerous artificial caves are found, of a con- 
struction resembling those in Ireland. They are called Eird-houses in 
the Low Country, and are considered as the hiding places of the abo- 
rigines. They are sometimes of considerable extent, being long and 
narrow; but many, to render the size more commodious, have in subse- 
quent periods been built up at the farther end. The sides are usually 
built of small stones, without cement, and the roof is composed of large 
thin stones resting on either side. The entrance to most of them ap- 
pears now only a rude hole or opening, but some are more artificial. 
Near Tongue, in Sutherland, are some where the passage is formed by 
large stones inclined to and resting on each other. 

The appearance of these Eird-houses on the exterior, when they are 
at all discernible, is that of a slight, green eminence, and except one is 
directed in his search, it would be difficult to discover them. In the 
parishes of Achindoer and Kildrummy, in Aberdeenshire, they are nu- 
merous, I have inspected several in these parts; but I confess I should 
not have looked for so many as the late Professor Stuart says had been 
discovered, — not less than forty or fifty! He justly observes, that per- 
haps so many in one place has never occurred. In all those which he 
visited nothing was found but wood ashes and charcoal, which with an 
aperture for the escape of smoke, may have been produced by recent 
occupants. 

In the parish of Golspie, Sutherland, subterraneous buildings have 
been discovered, having a small oblique entry from the surface of about 
two and a half feet square, which after advancing three yards widens to 
about three feet, and winds a few yards fariher to an apartment of about 
tvyelve feet square and nine high, covered above by large broad stones, 
terminating in one, formed like a mill-stone, having a hole in the centre, 
probably to emit smoke. From this cell a passage led to others, which 
are now inacessible from the fall of the superincumbent earth. 

Rude as the common habitations of the ancient tribes were, and un- 
important as the science of domestic architecture was deemed, the dwell- 
ings of the chief men were of a superior construction. Adomnan men- 
tions castles as the residence of the Pictish kings, and many structures 
are undoubtedly of their era. The existence of palaces of these mon- 
archs at Abernethy, in Perthshire, has been noticed by Mr. Small in a 
work devoted to an investigation of the subject. 

The Duns, properly so called, or those circular buildings in Scotland, 
constructed without any cement, and usually exhibiting double walls, to 
which this term is particularly appropriated, are objects of great antiqua- 

* De Re Rust. 57. 



DUNS. 261 

rian interest, and admirable specimens of Celtic architecture. These 
edifices have been scattered over Scotland in considerable numbers, but 
in most cases but very slight remains of their curious walls now exist. 

It is asserted by the author of " Caledonia," that not one bears an ap- 
pellation from the Pictish or British languages; * and that they are only 
found in the parts where the Scandinavians settled. Buildings similar 
in plan and internal arrangement, are indeed found in Orkney, Shetland, 
and in parts of Scotland where these people did reside; but why may not 
they have imitated the construction of the Celts? or taken possession of 
buildings erected before their arrival? The learned Mr. Grant, of Cor- 
imony, who devoted much attention to the examination of these antique 
structures, thus expresses himself concerning them: " That the Danes, 
or Norwegians, and the Gael, were equally capable of building such ed- 
ifices, there is no good reason to entertain any doubt; but that these 
towers were built by the native Gael, and not by foreigners, appears to 
be in no small degree probable. They are of an uncommon construction, 
and different from any of those antique edifices to be seen in the islands 
possessed by the Danes." 

A writer who is not inclined to concede much to the Celts, and who 
has certainly studied the national history with attention, however his 
prejudices may have misled him, thus observes. " It has been on all oc- 
casions found that there was a considerable resemblance in the manners, 
usages, warlike weapons, and monumental practices of the original Brit- 
ish or Celtic inhabitants, and those of their early invaders, and there 
seems no ground for attempting a distinction in the structures which 
they erected for the purposes of defence."! Two quseries may be 
proposed: the Norwegians invaded and subdued other countries; do we 
find them building any circular forts there? Are round towers found 
any where in Europe except in the regions inhabited by Gael? If 
some of the Duns bear names which appear to indicate Norwegian or 
Danish founders, many others are distinguished by appellations decided- 
ly Celtic. Those of Glenelg, without enumerating many others, have 
the appropriate names of Caiman, Conal, Telve, and Troddan, that are 
purely Gaelic, and were apparently imposed before tlie introduction of 
Christianity. 

This remarkable assemblage of buildings, one of which, Caistell Trod- 
dan, being the most perfect, is represented in the preceding vignette, is, 
or rather was, to be seen in Gleubeg, a small valley, which terminates 
in Glenelg, in Inverness-shire. Within the extent of a mile, four of 
these sing\ilar edifices were to be seen, displaying a mode of construc- 
tion truly admirable. 

The one alluded to is still upwards of thirty feet high, having, it is sup- 
posed, been originally somewhat more than forty, J and has a clear area of 

* Vol. i. p. 343. t Mac Culloch's Western Islands, i. 141. 

t Dr. Mac Pherson found it thirty-four, and Gordon, who visited it about fifty years 
before, calls it thirty-three feet. 



^62 DUNS. 

thirty feet diameter * Two walls, each four feet in thickness, are built 
at four feet distance from each other. That in the interior is perpendic- 
ular, the outer one being inclined so as to meet the other near the top of 
the building. The interval between is divided by means of horizontal 
flat stones, inserted in both walls, into galleries. It was the opinion, ac- 
cording to the Rev. Donald Mac Leod, of some old men, that these pas- 
sages had originally a spiral ascent, like some on the east coast, but they 
seem rather to have formed distinct flats or stories, as shown in the sec- 
tion (C.) At the junction of the walls, in the interior, is a row of large 
flat projecting stones, and about eight feet below was another similar 
range, destroyed by a military contractor. 

There is no window or opening on the outside, except the door, which 
communicates with a small circular stone fabric, similar to what has been 
described. The windows, of which two are detached from the others, 
commence about thirteen feet from the ground. Six rows of the first 
are all one and a half feet wide ; some are two and others three feet in 
height. 

" The building of those edifices," says Mr. Grant, " must have been 
attended with immense labor and difficulty. The stones with which 
those structures are built, are many of them of great weight and size, and 
must have been brought from parts of the country at a great distance from 
the towers. No such stones are to be found in the whole extent of the 
valley where the towers stand. Stones of similar size, shape, and di- 
mensions, it is said, are to be found near the summits of some of the high 
mountains which form one side of the valley. The great mountain of 
Ben Nevis, near Fort William, is 1640 yards in height. This mountain 
is not of a conical figure, terminating in a sharp point, like many others 
of the highest mountains in Scotland ; the summit is a plain, exhibiting 
in abundance such stones as those with which the Glenelg towers are 
built. All the stones are flat-sided parallelograms; their edges are right 
lines, terminating in regular angles; they are capable of being closely 
joined, and built in such manner as that the superincumbent stones 
are made to cover both ends of the immediately subjacent stones all 
round the building. 

" Two of these towers still remain, though not whole or entire; the 
other two have been destroyed by unhallowed hands, and taken away 
to build the barracks of Bernera, standing at the bottom of the larger 
valley of Glenelg. Those curious stones, laid with such admirable skill, 
and collected with such wonderful industry by our remote ancestors, were 
to be confounded with common stones of irregular figures, to be hidden 
from the eye by cement and mortar, after the manner of more improved 
ages in the arts of architecture. Thus those curious monuments of 
antiquity were pulled asunder, and swept away, to gratify the mean 
avarice of servants in the pay of government. Disgraceful barbarity! 

* The diameter of these buildings varies from seventeen to fifteen feet. 



DUNS. 



363 



It is to be hoped that the proprietor of those singular monuments of rude 
architecture, will in future pay particular attention to the preservation of 
their remains, which cannot but afford a delicious entertainment to the 
eye of curiosity." 

These sentiments of a zealous and learned antiquary, must be conge- 
nial to every cultivated mind. It is unfortunately too often to be regretted 
tiiat the interesting remains of ancient art fall into the hands of those 
who have no veneration for the works of antiquity, nor admiration of the 
ingenuity of former ages. Arthur's oven, that unique and curious spe- 
cimen of ancient architecture, standing near the river Carron, was rased 
to the ground for the construction of a mill-pond! This venerable mon- 
ument, of which Stukely and Gordon give engravings, was of a circular 
form. The walls were bent over in the manner of a vault, without closing, 
a considerable aperture being left in the centre, which with an arched door 
and small window lighted the interior. It has been supposed a Roman 
temple erected to Terminus. Horsley thinks it a sepulchre, and Pink- 
erton believes it gave the hint for the erection of the Duns, It is cer- 
tainly of the same character, and resembled some structures in Ireland 
that will be briefly noticed. 

The following sections of two of these buildings, dun Dornghil, in 
Strathmore, parish of Durness, in Sutherland, (A,) and the burg of 
Mousa, (B,) supposed of Norwegian construction, show no further 
difference than a greater rudeness in the latter. 




The stairs of these Duns were sometimes, as before observed, carried 
up in a rude winding form, as in that at Mousa; but the general plan 
appears to have been in the manner shown by this section. 




Dun Dornghil, erroneously called Dornadilla, is represented at the 



264 DUNS. 

termination of this Chapter. It was, in the memory of man, about thirty 
feet high, but is now much dilapidated. Not a stone of this fabric "is 
moulded by a hammer, nor is there any fog or other material used to fill 
up the interstices among the stones; yet the stones are most artfully laid 
together, seem to exclude the air, and have been piled with great 
mathematical exactness." 

The following verse concerning it, is repeated by the inhabitants. 

Dun Dornghil Mac Duiff 

Or an taobh ri meira don strha 

Sehcht mille o manir 

Er an rod a racha na fir do Gholen. 

TRANSLATION. 

The Dun of Dornghiall, son of Duff, 
, Built on the side of the strath next to Rea, 

Seven miles from the ocean, 
And in the way by which the warriors travel to Caithness.* 

Castle Coul, situated upon a rock at the black water of Strathbeg, 
parish of Clyne, in the same county, is another remarkable edifice of 
similar construction. The walls are now only about eleven feet high; 
they are thirteen and a half feet thick at the base, and leave an area of 
twenty-seven feet clear. The stones are large and well joined, without 
any cement, and the building inclines inwards nine inches in three feet. 

In the middle of the wall, on each side of the entrance, which is three 
and a half feet in height by two and a half in width, is a small apartment, 
about six feet square and five feet high, that seems to have been intended 
for a guard room. Six feet from the base of the wall are the remains of 
another, which surrounded the dun. This appears to have been for the 
purpose of forming, by means of large flag stones stretching to the castle 
walls, an additional security from assault. In this place it is said the 
cattle were kept during the night, and when the country was invaded. t 
The water of the river was carried by a ditch round the castle. 

In the parish of Dunse, county of Berwick, is a ruin called Edwin's 
Hall, which is supposed to have been erected by the Picts, and will be 
seen from the descriptionj to be of the same class as the Duns just 
described, only exhibiting an arrangement of three walls, with a mode 
of connecting the stones extremely ingenious and uncommon. Like all 
similar structures, it is situated on an eminence. Cockburn Law, the 
site of this fort, is 900 feet above the level of the sea. The circular 
walls, seven feet in thickness, are concentric, and the clear interior area 
is forty feet. The stones are chiefly a hard whinstone, and are fixed 
without any cement, but are attached to each other by alternate grooves 
and projections, or, in technical phrase, are dove-tailed. 

In Ireland, from statements in a foregoing page, it might seem there 
were anciently no buildings of stone. Such observations are to be taken 

* Rev. A. Pope, in Archnsologia, v. 

t Henderson's View of the Agriculture of the County. 

t Traveller's Guide through Scotland. 



ROUND TOWERS. 265 

in a general sense, or with so much allowance, as will prevent the 
appearance of contradiction. The subterraneous structures already 
noticed were rude, but successful attempts in masonry: and although it is 
believed by some of the antiquaries of that country, that the Domliag, or 
stone house of St. Kianan, was the first of that kind, there is some reason 
to entertain another opinion. Many curious buildings are scattered 
throughout that interesting island, which, from their singularity of style, 
and unknown appropriation, are in all probability of extreme antiquity. 
On the Skelig isle, off the coast of Kerry, are the remains of several 
cells, which are built of a circular form and arched over. No cement 
whatever is used, but the stones are dove-tailed together in a very in- 
genious manner. On the Island of Innis Mackellan, opposite Dunmore 
Head, and at Gallerus, are similar cells; and at Fane, all in the same 
county, are the ruins of another.* These buildings are perfectly imper- 
vious to water, and, consequently, were well calculated to resist the 
injuries of the weather for many ages. 

The ROUND TOWERS, SO numerous in Ireland, and which are spoken of 
by Giraldus Cambrensis as of great antiquity, even when he wrote, have 
attracted not merely the notice of the antiquary, but excited the admira- 
tion and curiosity of all who view them. Their singularity, and the 
mystery which envelopes their origin and design, have drawn towards 
them much attention, and elicited many curious speculations on their 
apparent uses and probable era of construction. 

It has been supposed that they served as edifices wherein to preserve 
the sacred fire of the Druids. It has been also said that they were pla- 
ces of residence and probation for devotees, who, by religious exercises 
and privations, gradually ascended from story to story, as they mortified 
the flesh and improved in holiness, secluding themselves from society, 
and acquiring a high reputation for superior devotion, and perhaps su- 
pernatural powers. This supposition, which may receive some counte- 
nance from what Tacitus relates of the Prophetess Veleda, that she did 
not permit herself to be seen, but lived in a high tower, having an attend- 
ant to communicate between her and all applicants, f and which does 
not appear to have struck any inquirers, is yet entirely conjectural. The 
preceding opinion is liable to the same objection, and is considered by 
Mr. Higgins as completely overthrown by the fact of the crucifixion, 
and other sculptures emblematical of Christianity, appearing on the 
walls. This is not a just conclusion, except it is first satisfactorily as- 
certained whether these figures are part of the original work. It cer- 
tainly appears a strong argument in favor of the connexion of the towers 
with Christianity, that they are always in the vicinity of churches, and 
that those churches are invariably without steeples. J It is to be borne 

" Luckombe's Tour. At Ithaca, a building resembling these still exists, supporting 
Grant's idea of the origin of the Gagl. Poems and Translations from the Gaelic by 
Mr. Donald Mac Pherson. 

t Annals iv. % Archdall's Mon. Hist., 259, et seq., «&c. 

34 



266 ROUND TOWERS. 

in mind, however, that Christian places of worship were founded on tne 
sites of ancient temples;* and it is obvious that where one of those 
towers existed there was no necessity for building another steeple, its 
chief use being to hold the bells. That the towers were appropriat- 
ed for this purpose seems clear, from their name of Cloghad, or bell 
tower. This appellation is decisive of their having been long so appro- 
priated; but it has been asserted, without much reason, that their small 
diameter rendered them unfit for belfries. The height of these tow- 
ers varies from about 60 feet to 130. The walls are usually about 3 
feet in thickness, and the clear diameter about 10 feet.y They are 
built of stones about a foot square, neatly joined with very little cement 
The inside is sometimes remarkably smooth, and the masonry is so 
good, that instances have occurred of their falling down and lying 
entire on the ground, like a huge cannon. Those in best repair are 
covered by a conical roof of stone, which has usually windows facing 
the cardinal points, and the inside generally shows the corbel stones on 
which the wooden floors of four to six different apartments rested. The 
door is commonly a considerable distance from the ground, sometimes 
15 feet or more, and this is reckoned one of their most unaccountable 
peculiarities. 

Assuming that these towers were erected after the introduction of 
Christianity, is it not probable that they were used as watch towers, 
whence the approach of an enemy could be descried at a great distance, 
and to which the ecclesiastics could speedily retreat with their relics and 
other valuable articles? The elevated entrance demonstrates that it 
was intended to be difficult of access, and is a well-known characteristic 
of the fortifications of other nations. A subterraneous passage between 
the cathedral of Cashel and its attendant tower corroborates the opinion 
that it was a place of retreat. Consistent with this use would be the 
position of an alarm bell, to ring on the advance of invading enemies, or 
the ferocious nations who had not learned to respect the persons of the 
clergy, or the rights of the church. In Scotland, and I believe also in 
Wales, the steeples of old churches have crenellated battlements, and 
other appearances of having been built with the prospect of having to 
sustain assaults, and the pages of history inform us that the sacred edi- 
fice did not always protect its inmates from the rage of a barbarous foe. 
In Scotland there still exist two round towers, in every respect like those 
in Ireland. They both stand in the territories of the ancient Picts; and 
Abernethy, where one of them is seen, was once the capital of their 
kingdom. The tower here is about seventy-four feet high, and has re- 
cently got a covering of lead. The stones of which it is built have been 
brought from the Lomond hills, five miles distant, and are carefully plac- 
ed in regular courses, without much cement. The Rev. Andrew Small 

* The tower at Cashel is believed to be the oldest building on the rock. 
t At Kineigh, a ruined church near Inniskeen, is a tower hexagonal to a certain 
height. 



CASTLES.— COTTAGES. 267 

notices the tradition, that the stones were handed from one person to 
another, the edifice being finished in one day; to accomplish which, he 
calculates that 5,500 men were sufficient. It is clear to hiin " as a sun- 
beam," that this tower is the burying-place of the Pictish kings, and, on 
digging, an urn, and eight or ten skulls, with other parts of the human 
body, and some bones of dogs were discovered. The tower at Brechin 
consists of sixty regular courses of hewn stone, of a fairer color than the 
adjoining churcn. It is eighty-five feet high to the cornice, above which 
is a low roof of stone with four windows. It communicates with the 
ancient cathedral by a door, which, like that at Abernethy, is on the 
north side, but this may not be original. Both are about forty-eight 
feet in outward circumference, which is, with a few exceptions, larger 
than those in Ireland. 

The castles of Dunstaffhage, Inverlochy, and many others, are of un- 
deniable antiquity. It is true that the remaining ruins do not display 
very perceptibly the marks of primitive architecture. Buildings were 
successively repaired and renewed, until all traces of the original work 
were lost; but it would be quite unwarrantable to deny that the struct- 
ures referred to in history, as standing on the sites of these buildings 
never existed. Both Picts and Caledonians were able to raise fabrics 
of sufficient grandeur and strength for the accommodation and security 
of their princes. 

The Gael do not adhere to the circular form in which their ancestors 
built their houses, but construct them of an oblong that sometimes 
stretches a considerable way. From the abundance of the material, 
they are usually of stone, built with much nicety, and are finished with 
or without the addition of mortar, according to circumstances. Turf 
and stone, in alternate layers, are much used, the first being laid in 
manner of herring-bone work. A sort of wall, formed of clay and straw, 
mixed together, called Achenhalrig, is prevalent in Banff and Moray- 
shires. The interior arrangement is simple. Each end forms an apart- 
ment, the centre being occupied by wooden fixed beds, ambries or cup- 
boards, &c. These are termed in Scotish the but and ben ends, which 
are the Saxon words " be out " and " be in," applied to the common and 
better apartments.* 

The cottages in Scotland are constructed without much trouble or 
expense, and are generally the work of the owners. An old corporal in 
Sutherland, who appears, from having seen a little of the world, to have 
acquired a taste for something better than the common sort of houses, 
being asked how he intended to build his dwelling, replied, that there 
should be one good room in it, should it cost two pounds! Few houses, 
except those of the chiefs and clergymen, had any upper floor, or any 
ceiling. In many parts of the Highlands there is a difficulty of procur- 
mg'wood of sufficient length for couples or rafters. Cabers are rough 

* The Dutch have also buten and benen. 



268 COTTAGES 

boughs spread across the rafters; and for defence these were formerlv 
interwoven, and the whole roof strongly wattled. 

A usual covering for the houses in Scotland is feil or divot, i. e. turf 
cut tniniy, and with much nicety, by a peculiar implenient called a 
flaughter spade. This, when used alone, is laid in manner of slating, 
with the greatest care and the regularity of fishes' scales. The turf is 
generally covered with heath, a material so cheap and lasting, that it is 
surprising to find it not universally adopted. It can be used alone, 
and with timber of a very ordinary description. It also takes very little 
trouble to keep in repair; and, if the covering is well executed, it is 
equal to slates, and will last 100 years, if the timber do not give way. 
Many churches were formerly covered with heath, some within my own 
memory, the services from lands being often a certain quantity of it for 
this purpose. Its only disadvantage is being heavier than straw or rush- 
es. Fern or rainneach is next to heath, but much inferior, and will not 
last above twelve or fifteen years. In Argyle the houses appear to be 
chiefly covered with it. A straw thatched roof is light, and has this ad- 
vantage, that it is warmer in winter, and cooler in summer than the 
others. 

The floors are commonly of clay or mortar, well hardened, but it is 
often partially laid with stones. The ben end in the houses of the better 
sort is sometimes floored with wood, and the ceiling is often of the same 
material. The windows are small, and few in number, and glass is an 
article with which they can easily dispense. The room is chiefly lighted 
by the chimney, and this, in the old-fashioned houses, where the fire 
occupied the middle of the apartment, was in the roof above it. In 
many Highland cottages it still retains this situation, a position which 
allows the inmates to get around it, an accommodation so desirable, that 
where the hearth is fixed, in accordance with the modern plan, at one 
end, a sufficient space is often reserved for seats between the wall and 
the fire. In the aboriginal huts the most convenient site for the fires 
was the middle of the dwelling. The Welsh had not altered its place in 
the time of Cambrensis, who informs us it occupied the centre of the 
round hall, and men, women, and children slept around it on rushes 
spread on the floor. Chimneys were alike unknown to the ancient and 
recent Gael. At the present day, they have in many cases adopted the 
artificial funnel for carrying off" the smoke; but a hole in the roof, above 
which there is sometimes a low chimney of wood or wicker work, is 
usually all that is thought necessary, and very inefficient it generally is. 
It has been observed by a recent traveller in these parts, that chimneys 
are a premature improvement, the cottages, while constructed on the 
old plan, and the inhabitants remaining in the same state, being suffi- 
ciently comfortable. 

The houses of the Gauls were coated inside with an earth or clay, 
sometimes so varied, pure, and transparent, that it resembled painting.* 

* Tacitus. 



HOUSES. 



269 



The Britons preferred plainness in the decoration of their dwellings, 
white-washing the clay with chalk only.* The old Irish seem to have 
ornamented their wooden buildings with rude paintings. 

The furniture of the houses was more ample than might at first be 
supposed. When we find the arts of carpentry, pottery, &c., so well 
understood in remote ages, it must be evident that the dwellings of the 
Celts were not destitute of those articles which are subservient to do- 
mestic comfort In this place, it will be sufficient to notice the general 
appearance of their habitations, before proceeding to view, more partic- 
ularly, their manner of living. As might be expected in those rude and 
martial people, the Celts had some singular and barbarous modes of 
ornamenting and furnishing their houses. They hung up the spoils of 
their enemies, with the skins and other parts of animals which they had 
killed, in the vestibules of their houses. The heads of the most noble 
of their enemies who fell in battle were cut off*, and after being embalm- 
ed with oil of cedar, and other substances, they were carefully deposited 
in chests, and Exhibited to strangers with much ostentation. They 
boasted with pride, that their fathers or themselves, although offered 
much money, would not accept it, nay, refused to part with them even 
for their weight in gold. The Caledonians were also accustomed to 
decapitate their enemies; but whether they preserved them to ornament 
their dwellings, we are not aware. 

A poetical description is not indeed to be received as a faithful and 
unexaggerated picture, but it may tend to prove the existence of the 
arts of civilized life, among a people deemed by many little better than 
savage. The chamber of Everallin, the spouse of Ossian, was " covered 
with the down of birds, its doors were yellow with gold, and the side 
posts were of polished bone." We have found corroborative testimony 
that the ancient Gael were able to form more ingenious ornaments than 
these, and an opportunity will shortly offer to investigate more particu- 
larly their acquirements in various arts. 




* Strutt from the same. 




CHAPTER IX. 

OF ANIMALS, AND THE MANNER OF HUNTING 

Hunting is one of the principal occupations of mankind in a state of 
barbarism. With the exception of war, it is almost their sole pursuit, and 
the necessity of following it as a chief means of subsistence, overcomes 
the indolence which is so characteristic of uncivilized nations. 

The Celtae were celebrated hunters, and they pursued the game not 
only for the purpose of supplying themselves with food, but as an agreea- 
ble diversion, suited to their active and roaming dispositions. There 
was also an advantage in hunting, which, perhaps, had some influence 
in stimulating them to the pursuit: it lessened the number of ferocious 
animals with which their dense woods were filled, and to which their 
flocks were so much exposed, and this was urged as a strong reason by 
the Highlanders why they should be allowed to retain their arms. The 
produce of the chase continued to afford the Celts a plentiful supply of 
venison when it had long ceased to be their chief dependence. The 
ancient Caledonians had numerous herds of domestic animals, and raised 
a scanty supply of corn. Their successors extended agriculture, but they 
preferred the hunting and shepherd state in which they remained until the 
sixteentii century, and continued both the practice and love of fowling 
and the chase until the disarming act altered their situation. Allan Mac 
Dougal, a modern bard, regrets this change, in lines imitated in English 
Sy a literary friend: 



HUNTING. 271 

" Cha n'eil abhachd feadh na beann, 
Tha giomanicli teann fo smachd ; 
Tha fear na croiclide air chall, 
Chaigh gach eilid a's mang as. 
Cha 'n- f haighar ruagh-bhochd nan alt 
Le cu seang gachuir le strath ; 
An eiric gach cuis a bh' ann 
Feidirich na'n gall sgach glaichd." 

" The cheerless hunter hangs his pensive head, 
No moie the liills re-echo to his voice ; 
To meet the stately st.ig with mantle red, 
No more the fawn and bounding doe rejoice 
No more is heard the deep-mouthed hollow voice 
Of the lank greyhound that pursues the roe ; 
But, in exchange for all our former joys, 
Foul frowsy shepherds, whistling as they go, 
Are seen in every glen, O bitter sight of wo !" 

" Sealg is sugradh nan glean,"* a favorite air of the mountaineers, 
keeps alive the recollection of other times. 

The Highlander scorned the shepherd life as an occupation, but none 
could be more attentive to the condition and pasturage of his flocks and 
herds. The care of looking after the cattle was assigned to the youth 
between boyhood and manhood: tending the goats and sheep was the 
peculiar duty of the girls. The Gael thought it beneath them to spend 
their time in the servile occupation of a shepherd, but were by no means 
unwilling to assist their fair partners, recommending themselves to the 
good opinion of their mistress by an attention to her fleecy care. 

The existence in Europe, at some remote period, of many animals that 
are no longer found in these regions, and of certain creatures whose 
species are now extinct, is well known. It is not intended to investigate 
the subject of the curious variety of fossil remains that have so often 
been discovered, — the deposits, perhaps, of an antediluvian world; but 
it is necessary to notice some of the animals that must have formerly in- 
habited these climates. Britain and its surrounding islands are found to 
have once contained an extensive and strange variety of the brute crea- 
tion. The bones of a large sort of bear, of the hyjena, of the elephant, 
&c., have been discovered. The Welsh Triads notice the first as in- 
habiting the island before it became the permanent residence of human 
beings. Guillim says the bear was carried from Britain to Rome, but he 
does not give his authority for the assertion. It was very common in 
Spain, where the flesh was esteemed good food. The Beaver, an animal 
of which there will be occasion to speak in a succeeding page, long 
haynted the British rivers and lakes, and was only becoming rare in the 
time of Giraldus Cambrensis. In the Welsh histories, this animal is 
called efaine, in Gaelic it is named beathadach. 

One of the most singular animals that formerly lived in these islands, 

* The ancient hunting and hilarity of the glen. 



272 MOOSE DEER.— ALCE.— WOLVES. ' 

is the MOOSE deer, but the period of its existence has not been satisfac- 
torily ascertained. Even the Irish legends, whose antiquity seems able 
to reach the probable era, do not appear to recognise these animals as 
inhabitants of Erin, where their remains are so frequently discovered. 
In a learned communication by Dr. Hibbert, which I had the pleasure 
of hearing read at a meeting of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland, it 
was maintained that they have not been so long extinct as is generally 
believed. On this occasion it was remarked, on what authority I cannot 
tell, that the Norwegians were anciently accustomed to pass from Orkney 
to the mainland of Scotland, to hunt the Rein-deer! If this is true, the 
climate must be greatly altered. It is much too warm now for this hardy 
animal, which was formerly to be found plentifully in the Hyrcinian 
forest, in modern Germany, which they have long abandoned for colder 
regions. 

Whether the moose deer were cut off by a general murrain, or were 
extirpated by the efforts of mankind, is matter of conjecture. The re- 
mains of some have been found, that bore the plain appearance of having 
received a deep wound, the apparent cause of death. The horns of this 
animal, that are frequently dug up in Ireland, in Scotland, and in the 
Isle of Man, are discovered sometimes alone, and at other times, seve- 
ral together, and they are not seldom attached to the scull. These enor- 
mous horns have measured two yards in length and nearly fifteen feet 
from tip to tip. The only species of animal resembling the moose deer, 
which is known now to exist, is that in America, which bears the same 
name. The Alce of the continent, from the descriptions of the ancients, 
was a very singular animal. It was so extremely shy that it was very 
seldom taken or killed, and the greatest cunning was requisite to surprise 
it, for it could not be regularly hunted like other game. According to 
Pausanias, it was an animal between a camel and a stag: * it appears to 
have been the elk, the bones of which are often found in different parts 
of Britain. The Elk is mentioned in several poems of the ancient 
Bards. To this authority, however, the skeptical may object, as well as 
to a tradition but little known, that Lon dubh, a term now given to the 
blackbird, was originally the name of the moose deer, some of which 
Ossian appears to have seen. 

Wolves were anciently very numerous on the continent and in the 
British islands. The exaction of their heads as a tribute from the Brit- 
ons, and the imposition of a certain number as a compensation for crimes, 
led to the extirpation of this fierce inhabitant of the forest. The wolf 
has been extinct in Scotland since 1697, when the last one was destroy- 
ed by the celebrated Sir Ewen Cameron, of Lochiel. The statutes by 
which the Barons were enjoined " to hunt and chace the wolfe and 
Wolfe's whalps, four times a year, and as often as they see them;"! and 
" the Scherrif and Baillie to hunt them thrice in the year," with power 
to raise the country to their assistance, J prove how numerous they must 

* Lib. ix. 2L t Seventh Parliament, James L t First Parliament, James VL 



FOXES.— WILD CATS— BOARS. 273 

have formerly been in the north, and evince the anxiety of the govern- 
ment to root out this formidable enemy to the Scotish farmer. These 
enactments, and a reward for the heads, hastened their extermination, 
since which the word fiadhchoin, literally wild dogs, has become obso- 
lete. Malcolm Laing thought he had found a strong argument against 
the authenticity of Ossian's poems, in their silence respecting wolves; 
but the publication of the originals has overthrown this objection, raised 
from an ignorance of the Gaelic language. In the first book of Fingal 
we find "the growling of wolves from their caverns;"* and in the 
poems of clan Uisnich "j" and Cuthon they are also alluded to. Faol, 
which occurs in ancient poems and various MSS., has long since fallen 
into disuse, but is preserved in the compound faoilteach, or faoltmhi, the 
wolf-month, which includes the 'last fortnight of winter and the first of 
spring.J Mada, a dog, and alluidh, ferocious, form the present name 
of a wolf among the Highlanders. Wolves are said to have remained in 
Ireland until the beginning of last century, the bog of Kilcrea being one 
of their latest and least accessible retreats. Derrick, in 1581, speaks of 
no other wild animal. Mr. Adams, an English gentleman, having been 
driven from his house with his family during the troubles in the seven- 
teenth century, they were attacked when in the woods, by wolves, and 
the whole party, to the number of fourteen, were destroyed. § 

The Lupus cervarius, a hart or hind wolf, called by the Gauls Raphi- 
um, was found in their extensive forests, and several were exhibited at 
Rome by Pompey, as natural curiosities. |1 They were not the only re- 
markable animals of the kind: there were a sort of very large and fierce 
creatures, called wolf dogs, being a cross from the two animals. Great 
herds of these roamed in the woods, and, what was most singular, a par- 
ticular dog acted as a leader, all the others following and submitting to 
his direction, the whole pack observing an appearance of order. IT They 
appear to have resembled the Irish wolf dog. 

Foxes, called Madadh ruadh, red dogs, or Sionach, and Cat fiadhaich, 
WILD CATS, are still plentiful in Scotland. They are, indeed, much less 
numerous than heretofore, from the exertions of district foxhunters, but 
these gentlemen are not likely to obviate the necessity of their own di- 
versions by exterminating the breed. The wild cat is extremely fero- 
cious, and does much injury to the poultry. It would appear from royal 
licenses, that this animal was formerly common in England. 

Boars were numerous in the primaeval woods of Britain, where they 
ranged in natural wildness, and hunting them was a favorite amusement. 
The native domesticated breed has long been intermixed with others. 
In Sutherland, I believe, are still some remains of the indigenal stock, 
>vhich was of small size. In Man they remained wild, or semi-domesti- 
cated, until lately, roaming without restraint in the woods and on the 

* Gadhair is fiadhchoin nam cam. t S'air chuilen na fiadhchoin, stanza 7, b. 3. 

X Rep. on the Poems of Ossian, Appendix, p. 199. 

§ Ireland's Tragical Tyrannie, 4to. 1642. || Pliny. TI Pliny, vii. c. 40. 

35 



274 DEER.— CALEDONIAN OX 

mountains. They were called puns, and had all the flavor of the wila 
boar. * In the wastes of Germany these animals seem still to live in a 
state of nature. The ancient Gauls appear to have attempted their do- 
mestication, but Atnenasus says they were allowed to remain during the 
night in the fields, and surpassed all others in size, strength, and swift- 
ness, being little less dangerous than wolves. 

Deer, once so numerous in Scotland, are much reduced in number, 
and a chief cause assigned for their disappearance is the decay of the 
woods. In many parts, the mountains, that were formerly covered with 
red deer and roe, are no longer a retreat for them. The improvements 
in sheepfarming have driven them to the inaccessible parts of the High- 
lands. Their ancient haunts are now traversed by the shepherd and his 
dog, before whom they have fled to the distant heights, and it is in many 
parts now rare to meet with even a solitary straggler. This, however 
unpleasant to the sportsman, is, perhaps, less to be regretted by the far- 
mer, who might have had his cornyard plundered by these animals, with- 
out being permitted to destroy them. 

In the rugged mountains of Brce Mar numerous herds of red deer 
still find protection in the remains of the forest of Caledonia, where two 
or three hundred are sometimes seen together. It is supposed that up- 
wards of three thousand are in the range of shooting-ground attached to 
Mar Lodge, a seat of the Earl of Fife, which is nearly a square of twen- 
ty miles. In the Rea forest, Sutherland, there are perhaps two thousand 
red deer, Stc. and about two hundred fallow deer find comfortable shelter 
in two sequestered islands in Lochlomond. 

In the mountain of Arkel, in the forest of Dirimore, in Sutherland, 
there was a peculiar sort of deer, according to Sir Robert Gordon. 
They had all forked tails, three inches long, whereby they were easily 
known from any others. Bede informs us, that Ireland was celebrated 
for stag-hunting, but deer had become rare in that country about the 
beginning of the 16th century, and the roebuck is said to have been un- 
known, t There is a Gaelic saying, S'fiach aon f hiadh 's Mhona' liath, 
a dha dheug an Gaig, i. e. one deer in the gray mountain is worth a dozen 
in Gaig, or in the Grampians in general; an exaggeration, certainly, but 
meant to denote the superior size of the deer found in the gray ridge. 

The Caledonian Ox is believed to have been peculiar to the north. 
The remains of this animal are frequently discovered deep underground, 
and it is remarkable that, in most cases, they are found without the horns. J 
The skull of one is preserved in the British Museum, from which the 
animal appears nearly allied to the European domestic ox, but of a larg- 
er size. At Craven, in Yorkshire, Chillingham park, in Durham, and 
Drumlanrig, in Scotland, breeds of these curious animals are yet pre- 
served. Numbers of cattle must long have continued to live in a state 

^ Agric. Report. They were subjected to a particular tythe. 

t Riche's Description of Ireland. 

t Cut off for drinking cups, or musical horns ? IT Caesar 



SHEEP.— GOATS.— HARE.— RABBITS.— POLECATS.— WEASLES. 275 

of nature among the inaccessible woods and mountains. Gildas relates 
that in his time wild bulls were caught by means of strong nets. 

The peculiar sort of wild cattle which the Triads relate were among 
the first living creatures in this island, are denominated Yohan-banog, 
oxen with high protuberances. They appear to have been buffaloes, the 
"name of which in Gaelic is bo-alluidh, or ferocious ox. Caesar says that, 
in Germany, was a bull, from the forehead of which grew a straight horn! 

Sheep, Caoraich, like other animals, must have been originally wild, 
Dut the period when they were in this state in Scotland, is too remote to 
be ascertained. Donald Munro says, that m the Hebrides he saw sheep 
'• feeding masterlesse, pertayning peculiarly to no man;" and in Orkney 
they are described by Brand as wild, but these assertions are inconsid- 
erate, for although there may have been stray flocks, the sheep were 
formerly, from the small size of farms, more tame than they are now. 

Goats, Gabhair, have remained in a state of wildness almost until our 
own times. 

The Hare was a native of Britain, and one of those animals used in 
divination. The religion of the Britons consequently forbade its use 
as food,* and it was only occasionally killed for the purpose of drawing 
auguries. t In the mountains of Sutherland, and other elevated situa- 
tions, is found an Alpine hare, rather less than the common sort, a beau- 
tiful creature, white as snow in winter, and in summer marked with a 
few dark gray hairs on the back. 

Rabbits, Coinean, appear to have been introduced to Britain, J prob- 
ably from Celtiberia, where they were particularly numerous. § In most 
of the Western Isles they are yet unknown. Those of the smallest size 
are found in Isla; the largest are those of Man.jl 

Polecats, Weasels, and other animals of the same sort common to 
South Britain, are^to be found in Scotland. Gordon gives a list of a 
variety of these creatures that were numerous in Sutherland. 

A species of amphibious animal, apparently of the rat kind, called 
Beothach an' f heoir, is found in the eddies of the higher regions, al- 
ways inhabiting the vicinity of the green patches around springs. When 
a horse feeds upon the grass that has been recently cropped by this an- 
imal, it swells, and in a short time dies, and the flesh is found blue as if 
it had been bruised or beaten. I believe this creature has not been 
hitherto described by naturalists. 

The tradition, of St. Patrick having by his blessing saved Ireland from 
the annoyance of noxious reptiles, is well known, but has in later times 
been found to be not strictly according to fact. Some parts of Scotland, 
it appears, long remained free from rats. Badenoch is said to have been 
thus fortunate, and in Sutherland, Sir Robert Gordon says, there is not 
a rat will live, and if any are brought into it " they die presently, as 
soon as they smell the air of the country, and, which is strange, there 

* Caesar. t Dio. t Varro, iii. 12. ap. Whitaker 

§ Pliny. II Pennant. 



276 HENS.— GEESE— CAPERCAILZIE.— EAGLE. 

are many in Caithness. " It is certain, that before 1798 they were not 
known in that part of the country, but a ship being then stranded at 
Ceantradwell, in the parish of Clyne, a few rats got ashore and took 
refuge in a mill, where they increased, and soon overspread the country. 
Birt says he never heard of rats in the hills but at Coul na kyle, in 
Strathspey, to which they had been brought in 1723 from London, and 
were then thought a presage of good luck. 

The Calf, a rock near the Isle of Man, was formerly celebrated for 
affording a supply of young puffins, esteemed a great delicacy; but a 
vessel unfortunately having been wrecked on it, the rats that got ashore 
soon exterminated these birds. In Man itself there are no foxes, moles, 
snakes, or toads; and magpies, frogs, partridges, and grouse were im- 
ported not perhaps more than one hundred years ago. A country may 
be happy in not possessing those noxious and unsightly creatures that 
annoy the inhabitants of other lands; but no calamity has happened to 
any place in these islands like what befell an unfortunate city of Gaul, 
where the inhabitants were actually forced to abandon it by a prodigious 
number of frogs. Nor have the number of rats been ever so formidable 
as they were to the poor German baron, whose strong isolated tower 
could not preserve him from ultimately perishing by these disgusting 
animals. 

The Britons had plenty of hens and geese.* Religion did not permit 
them to be used as food, but the people kept numbers of them about their 
dwellings. If their eggs were also prohibited, the Briton must have 
been influenced solely by superstition in keeping them around him. It 
does not appear from Pliny, who praises the German geese, that these 
people refused to eat them.f Those in the Highlands are half wild, 
occasionally resorting to the sea and lochs. 

The Capercailzie, or cock of the wood, once* found in tolerable 
plenty in the forests of Scotland, is now only seen on the most remote 
and inaccessible mountains, and so rarely is it met with, that it is suppos- 
ed by some to have been extinct nearly a century. It is larger than the 
black cock, which is now also very rare. The Ptarmigan, Grouse, and 
other game, are well known to be plentiful on the moors and mountains 
of Caledonia. 

The Eagle, lolar, that majestic tenant of the craggy steeps, has been 
time immemorial the emblem of strength and independence. Its pinions 
were the badges of Celtic chieftainship, and were esteemed the most 
honorable reward by the adventurous sportsman. This noble bird is, 
however, extremely destructive to poultry, and even the young lambs 
are not secure from its audacious attacks. Two eagles had built their 
nest in the neighborhood of a gentleman's house in Strathspey, and the 
quantities of game which they collected were truly astonishing. On the 

* Geadh, Gaelic, a goose ; Gwyz, Welch. 

T He mentions the circumstance of a flock walking all the way from the territories 
of the Morini, (Terouenne,) to Rome, x. 22. 



DRUID-DUBH.— CNAG— DOGS. 277 

arrival of any visiters, however unexpected, the gentleman had only to 
despatch some one to the eagles' eyrie, when an ample supply of hares, 
rabbits, muir fowl, partridges, ptarmigans, snipes, &c. were speedily 
procured. 

The Scots, like the Germans, are fond of singing birds, and do not 
often kill them. The Nightingale, which has now forsaken the northern 
part of the island, is supposed to have once frequented the woods of 
Scotland. Its name in Gaelic is beautifully expressive of the sweet- 
ness of its song, and the character of the bird. In Ros an ceol, the 
rose music, the melody is put for the melodist, the former being heard 
when the latter is unseen. 

The Druid-dubh, erroneously called Lon-dubh, or mountain black- 
bird. I believe is peculiar to the Alpine regions of the Scottish high- 
lands. It resembles in every thing, except its color, the blue bird of 
the Alps, mentioned by Bellonius and others. The female is larger than 
the common blackbird, and the feathers on the back are varied by a 
beautiful dark green gloss. The cock is distinguished by a snow white 
collar, or ring about three quarters of an inch broad round its neck, and 
above all birds for the loudness and clearness of its notes. 

The Cnag, or Lair fligh, a bird like a parrot, which digs its nest with 
its beak in the trunks of trees, is thought peculiar to the county of 
Sutherland. 

The numerous sea birds found on the coasts of Scotland and the isles, 
that form so large a part of the subsistence of the inhabitants of some 
places, are caught with peculiar dexterity, and by the most adventurous 
methods, practised only by the hardy and experienced natives. 

The Celtae had a prejudice against fish, which probably arose from 
the veneration they paid to the waters. The Gael retained this antipa- 
thy, and notwithstanding the numerous lochs, rivers, and arms of the sea 
which intersect their country, the Highlanders have never paid much 
attention to angling or other methods of catching the finny tribe. Many 
of their lakes have never been stocked. 

The Gauls employed themselves very sedulously in hunting, and 
practised various methods to make sure of the game. The want of 
food is a strong incentive to the pursuit, which is not always one of 
pleasure, and however much attached a rude and spirited people may be 
to the activity and enterprise of the chase, we may believe with Tacitus, 
that during peace they usually resigned themselves to sleep and repasts. 

Dogs were employed by the Gauls both in hunting and in war. The 
Celtic dogs were excellent in the chase, and those of the Britons were 
superior to all others. They were so much esteemed, that great num- 
bers were exported not only to Gaul but to Italy, being highly valued by 
the Romans.* They excelled in swiftness, a quality for which all Celtic 
dogs were celebrated. t Those of the Belgae, Segusi, and Sicambri, 
were next in value to the British. J 

*Strabo, iv. p.200. t Arrian, f. 121. t Montfaucon, 



278 ' DOGS. 

Vossius says, that the Latin catulus, a little dog, is a Gallic word. Lew 
is, in his History of Britain, derives the Roman cynegii, dog keepers, 
from the British ci, a dog. Ovid uses gallicus canis for a greyhound, 
and those now called beagles were denominated agassoeos and vertragos. 

The Scots dogs were celebrated all over Europe.* Their use in 
hunting rendered them inestimable to the tribes of Caledonia, and pro- 
duced a strong attachment between the hunter and his faithful companion, 
who was believed to accompany his master to the " airy hall" of his rest. 
A beautiful lamentation of Umad, an aged warrior, over gorban, his 
hound, is preserved in the poem of " Manos," and it shows, in a strong 
light, the love of the Highlanders for hunting, and the regard which they 
have for their dogs, that this ancient composition is at the present day 
the most universally known among them."!" 

The docility and attachment of the dog may have arisen from sharing 
its master's confidence, and receiving his continued attentions. Buffon 
ascribes these qualities in the Hottentot oxen to their enjoying the same 
bed and board as their owner, and experiencing his daily care. The 
Caledonians maintained great numbers of dogs, and the names of some 
of the most famous are still preserved. Bran and Sgeolan were favorites 
of Fingal, and in Glenlyon, in Perthshire, is pointed out his conabhacan, 
or stake, to which his hounds were fastened. In the Isle of Sky is a 
stone which was used by Cathullin for the same purpose. The Irish 
greyhounds that were used for hunting the wolf, are described as having 
been bigger of limb and bone than a colt. J 

The shepherd's dog I believe is peculiar to Scotland. The instinct of 
this animal is wonderful, and its services incalculable. It will bring the 
most numerous flock of sheep from the distant mountains, without other 
assistance, and without missing a single individual! 

It is probable the Celts used horses in the chase, after they had been 
domesticated, but they may have often amused themselves in hunting the 
animals themselves; for in the northern countries of Europe they were 
formerly wild, and roamed about in large troops. Even in after ages 
these animals must have continued to enjoy a freedom approximating 
to wildness. This is still nearly the case in some parts of Scotland, 
and in the Isles of Orkney and Shetland. All, a Gaelic term for a 
horse, is long gone into disuse, and is only preserved in cab-all, a tamed 
horse or mare. 

Besides the assistance of horses and dogs, the Gauls endeavored to 
secure their prey by assisting the effect of their weapons with poison. 
With one sort, which Pliny calls venenum cervarium, they rubbed their 
arrows in stag hunting; limeum, or hartsbane, was used in the same 
way.^ They also dipped the points of their weapons in the juice of hel- 
lebore, but in thus studying to render their shot effectual, they took care 

* Symachus, ep. ii. 77. Ant. Pagi. t Smith's Gallic Ant. p. 255. 

t Campion. § Lib. xxvii. 11. 



HUNTING. 279 

that the game should not be injured. They immediately cut the flesh 
from around the wound, and affirmed not only that the venison was 
uninjured, but that it was much improved, being rendered very tender.* 

An antique sculpture, representing a boar hunt, was discovered in the 
province of Narbonne.| The animal appears of a very large size, and 
is attacked by two hunters on foot, each armed with a dart, or venabu- 
ium, about 3| feet long, which is held in the right hand, while in the 
left they carry a piece of cloth, which one of them is about to thrust down 
the throat of the animal, as it rushes open mouthed on its assailants. 
This forms the subject of the vignette to this Chapter, only it will be 
observed, that one of the figures, who is in the same attitude, is omitted. 
In the portfeuille of M. Lenoir, is a representation of a similar attack, 
by a single hunter, who, instead of the cloth, wraps his hand in his 
sagum. 

The hunting of the boar was particularly famous among the ancient 
Gael. This perhaps arose from the peculiar address that was requisite 
in attacking so furious an animal; for we learn from Ossian, and other 
bards, that a warrior esteemed himself highly upon his address in spear- 
ing the boar, and one of their heads is represented to have been sym- 
bolical of particular prowess in hunting, being a trophy obtained at 
considerable peril. 

Hunting, among the ancient Scots, was an employment of the great- 
est importance. In the reign of Paganism it was connected with their 
mythology, for they believed that in the clouds they should enjoy, as a 
reward for their bravery, the pleasures of the chase in higher perfection 
than the earth could afford. According to Arrian, the Celts sacrificed 
to Diana the huntress. Whether the Gael invoked Grianus or Baal to 
prosper their hunting expeditions, we are not certain, but to be accom- 
plished in this exercise was the sure, the sole warrant for future renown 
and ability to govern. A young chief was obhged to evince his talent 
for conducting military operations by the leading of a great hunting 
incursion, a practice that long survived the last of the Fions.J The 
magnitude of the Highland expeditions against the wild tenants of the 
dense forests and rugged mountains was astonishing. Fingal, in an 
ancient poem, is said to have had 1000 hunters: succeeding chiefs have 
been accompanied by even a more numerous retinue. The heads of 
various and remote clans were accustomed to meet at certain times and 
in appointed places, attended by numbers of their followers, and com- 
menced a rigorous campaign against all the inhabitants of the forest, 
which never failed in producing a most abundant slaughter: but fond as 
the Highlanders were of the chase, and useful as it was to their subsis- 
tence, they did not pursue it to the neglect of more important avocations. 
" Though hunting," says their proverb, " be a good help, yet the chase 
is but a poor livelihood." The great hunting matches were the means 

* Pliny, XXV. t Montfaucon. t Martin. 



280 HUNTING. 

of preserving a social intercourse between tribes who lived far distant 
from each other. It was a means also of bringing the chiefs and princi- 
pal men of the country together, and enabled them to adjust differences, 
settle future proceedings, &c. They were at these meetings also able to 
arrange many things among themselves, which were of much more con- 
sequence than the ostensible object for which they were collected. A 
general hunting match has been the method by which the greatest en- 
terprises have been suggested and matured, without a suspicion being 
excited beyond the mountains. 

Huntings were often given in compliment to the visits of friends, and 
the vassals were summoned in suitable numbers. The chief could, of 
course, muster his clan by hereditary right, and they were besides spe- 
cially bound to hunt with their superior, the Highland servitudes being 
hunting, hosting, watching, and warding. The gallantry of the ancient 
Caledonians led them to honor a stranger with the danger of the chase; 
in other words, he was allowed to expose himself to the greatest hazard, 
and hence have the opportunity of gaining the most renown. 

By the Welsh laws of Griffith ap Conan, hunting was divided into 
three parts; helfa holet, hunting for the cry; helfa cyfarthfa, hunting for 
the bay, and helfa cyffredyn, common hunting, or that by which a person 
coming up to another who had killed an animal, could challenge the half* 
The laws of the chase, according to Scotish Chronicles, were settled 
by Dornadilla, one of the kings or chiefs of the fabulous period of na- 
tional history. Without any such intimation we are sufficiently convinc- 
ed of the importance in which it was held by the Celts. Many supersti- 
tions were connected with hunting, from the belief that it formed part of 
the amusements of the blessed after death, and some curious fragments 
of bardic composition exist on the subject. In Scot's discovery of witch- 
craft, it is recommended to prevent hunters or their dogs from being 
ensnared by this foul art, that an oaken branch should be cleaved, over 
which they should all pass. It was a most ancient belief that the forest 
was infested with supernatural beings, who amused themselves at the 
expense of mankind. 

A certain late writer has said that the Highlanders are naturally good 
marksmen. Their dexterity is produced solely by attention and prac- 
tice; which has long rendered them famous for taking sure and steady 
aim. Nearly 200 years ago they are thus noticed: " In the first place 
stood Highlanders, commonly called Redshankes, with their plaides cast 
over their shoulders, having every one his bowe and arrows, with a 
broad slycing sworde by his syde: these are so good markesmen, that 
they will kill a deere in his speede, it being the chiefest part of their liv- 
mg, selling the skins by great quantities, and feeding on the flesh." "j" 

A curious instance of the nicety of shooting occurred about seventy 
years ago. A poacher had long pursued his mode of life undetected, 
although the destruction of game was very great, and his habits well 

* Lewis. i His Majesties passing through the Scots' armie, 1641. 



HUNTING. 281 

known; but this veteran protracted his fate by using the weapon of his 
ancestors, the noiseless bow and arrow, and he was perhaps the last who 
used it for the purpose. After his capture he vaunted of his skill in 
archery, and the Duke of Athol, pointing to a stag, desired him to shoot 
it through the off eye; on which the Highlander giving a particular whis- 
tle, the animal looked round, and immediately received an arrow in the 
intended spot. 

Some interesting descriptions of Celtic huntings have been preserved. 
In the poem of" Fingal," three thousand hounds, that excelled in fleet- 
ness as in fierceness, were let loose, and each is represented as killing 
two deer; rather an exaggerated number, one should think. In the 
poem of " Dermid" is a paragraph, describing the manner of hunting, 
which we regret has not been translated. * Taylor, the water poet, cel- 
ebrates this noble sport of the Highlanders in energetic verse. 

" Through heather, moss, "mong frogs and bogs and fogs, 
'Mongst craggy cliffs, and thunder-battered hills, 
Hares, hinds, bucks, roes, are chased by men and dogs, 
Where two hours' hunting fourscore fat deer kills. 
Lowland, your sports are low as is your seat : 
The Highland games and minds are high and great." 

The Celtae, we are informed by Pausanias, surrounded plains and 
meuntains with their toils. In like manner, the Highlanders encom- 
passed a hill or large tract of country, and, advancing on all sides with 
" hideous yells," they enclosed the animals in a small space, and cut 
them down with their broadswords so dexterously, as not to injure the 
hide. In other cases they arranged themselves, part on the plain, and 
the others along the declivity of the mountains, and with loud cries as 
they advanced drove the herds of deer and other animals towards the 
chief and his party, who were ready in a desirable spot to enjoy the 
sport. This resembles the Spanish batidas, where some hundred people 
collect and drive the game through a defile, where the king, with his 
attendants, in an arbor or hut, constructed of boughs, slaughter the 
animals as they pass. 

King James V., having, in 1528, " made proclamation to all lords, 
barons, gentlemen, landward-men, and freeholders, to compear at Edin- 
burgh, with a month's victual, to pass with the king to dantonthe thieves 
of Teviotdale, &.c. ; and also warned all gentlemen that had good dogs 
to bring them, that he might hunt in the said country; the Earl of Argyle, 
the Earl of Huntley, the Earl of Atholl, and all the rest of the High- 
lands, did, and brought their hounds with them, to hunt with the king.' 
His Majesty, therefore, " past out of Edinburgh to the hunting with 
12,000 men, and hounded and hawked all the country and bounds, "and 
killed, as Lindsay heard, eighteen score harts. Next summer he went to 
hunt in Athol, accompanied by Queen Margaret and the Pope's ambas- 
sador, where he remained three days most nobly entertained by the Earl, 

* Smith's Gallic Antiquities, p. 189. 
36 



2tS ROYAL HUNTING. 

and killed "thirty score of hart and hynd, with other small beasts, as 
roe, and roebuck, wolf and fox, and wild cats."* 

This last expedition was accompanied with such extraordinary circum- 
stances, that Lindsay's account of it must be interesting, " The Earl 
of Athole. hearing of the king's coming, made great provision for him 
in all things pertaining to a prince, that he was as well served and eased 
with all things necessary to his estate as he had been in his own palace 
of Edinburgh. For, I heard say, this noble Earl gart make a curious 
palace to the king, his mother, and the ambassador, where they were so 
honorably lodged as they had been in England, France, Italy, or Spain, 
concerning the time and equivalent for their hunting and pastime; which 
was builded in midst of a fair meadow, a palace of green timber, wound 
with green birks that were green both under and above, which was fash- 
ioned in four quarters, and in every quarter and nuke thereof a great 
round, as it had been a blockhouse, which was lofted and geisted the 
space of three house height; the floors laid with green scharets and 
spreats, medwarts, and flowers, that no man knew whereon he zied, but 
as he had been in a garden. Further, there were two great rounds on ilk 
side of the gate, and a great portculleis of tree, falling down with the 
manner of a barrace, with a drawbridge, and a great stank of water of 
sixteen foot deep, and thirty foot of breadth. And also this palace with- 
iu was hung with fine tapestry and arrasses of silk, and lighted with fine 
glass windows in all airths; that this palace was as pleasantly decored 
with all necessaries pertaining to a prince as it had been his own royal 
palace at home. Further, this Earl gart make such provision for the 
kino- and his mother, that they had all manner of meats, drinks, and del- 
icates that were to be gotten, at that time, in all Scotland, either in 
burgh or land, viz. all kind of drink, as ale, beer, wine, &c. ; of meats, 
with flesshes, &c. ; and also the stanks that were round about the palace, 
were full of all delicate fishes, as salmonds, trouts, pearches, pikes, eels, 
and all other kind of delicate fishes that could be gotten in fresh waters, 
and all ready for the banquet. Syne were there proper stewards, &c.; 
and the halls and chambers were prepared with costly bedding, vessel, 
and napry, according for a king; so that he wanted none of his orders 
more than he had been at home. The king remained in this wilderness 
at the hunting the space of three days and three nights, and his compa- 
ny, as I have shown. I heard men say it cost the Earl of Athole every 
day in expences a thousand pounds." All this sumptuous edifice was 
purposely consumed by fire on the king's departure! 

Another old writer thus describes a great Highland hunting match. 
" In the year 1563, the Earl of Athol, a prince of the blood royal, 
had, with much trouble and vast expense, a hunting match for the en- 
tertainment of our most illustrious and most gracious queen. Our people 
call this a royal hunting. I was then a young man, and was present on 
that occasion. Two thousand Highlanders, or wild Scotch as you call 
* Lindsay of Pitscottie, Hist of Scotland, 225, ed. 1778. 



HUNTING MATCH. 283 

them here, were employed to drive to the hunting ground all the deer 
from the woods and hills of AthoU, Badenoch, Mar, Murray, and the 
countries about. As these Highlanders use a light dress, and are very 
swift of foot, they went up and down so nimbly, that in less than two months 
time they brought together 2000 red deer, besides roes and fallow deer. 
The queen, the great men, and others, were in a glen, when all the deer 
were brought before them. Believe me, the whole body of them moved 
forward in something like battle order. This sight still strikes me, and 
ever will, for they had a leader whom they followed close wherever he mov- 
ed. This leader was a very fine stag, with a very high head. The sight 
delighted the queen very much, but she soon had occasion for fear. Upon 
the Earl's (who had been accustomed to such sights) addressing her 
thus, ' Do you observe that stag who is foremost of the herd? There is 
danger from that stag, for if either fear or rage should force him from the 
ridge of that hill, let every one look to himself, for none of us will be out 
of the way of harm; for the rest will follow this one, and, having thrown 
us under foot, they will open a passage to this hill behind us.' What 
happened a moment after confirmed this opinion: for the queen ordered 
one of the best dogs to be let loose on one of the deer: this the dog pur- 
sues, the leading stag was frighted, he flies by the same way he had 
come there, the rest rush after him, and break out where the thickest 
body of the Highlanders was. They had nothing for it but to throw 
themselves flat on the heath, and to allow the deer to pass over them. 
It was told the queen that several of the Highlanders had been wound- 
ed, and that two or three had been killed outright; and the whole body 
had got off", had not the Highlanders, by their skill in hunting, fallen 
upon a stratagem to cut off" the rear from the main body. It was of 
those that had been separated that the queen's dogs and those of the 
nobility made slaughter. There were killed that day 360 deer, with 
5 wolves, and some roes."* 

When a single deer was wanted, the gamekeeper and a few assistants 
went to the hills, with a little oatmeal or other provision, and lay in wait 
for their prey, sometimes for several days and nights together. Stalking 
is the term applied to the pursuit of deer by individuals, and, as the ani- 
mals are shy, incredible patience and exertion are necessary to secure 
the game. A deer stalker has walked two miles in deep water, and 
crawled a considerable distance on his belly, in order to approach the 
animals unobserved. 

The forester was an important member of the clan, and enjoyed several 
perquisites. On the return of a young chief from his first public hunting 
all his arms, clothing, and other articles were, by immemorial custom, 
given to the forester. Sir Robert Burnet, of Crathes, in Aberdeenshire, 
bears a Highlander as one of the supporters to his arms, his ancestors 
having been the king's foresters in the north. 

* Barclay's contra Monarchomacus. 



284 



HAWKING. 



It appears that hawking was a diversion of the ancient Britons. 
Helfa, hunting, signifies also hawking,* and Ossian mentions " a hun- 
dred hawks with fluttering wing." By the laws of Hwyel Dha, the 
master of the hawks enjoyed his lands free, he sat the fourth man from 
the king, slept in the barn, and had a hand breadth of wax candle to 
feed his birds and light him to bed. He received a dried sheep, and was 
served with drink sufficient only to quench his thirst, lest his charge 
should be neglected. The hearts and lungs of all animals killed in the 
royal kitchen were allowed him to feed his birds, and he was obliged to 
have his horse always ready. 

Rederch, King of the Strathclyde Welsh, included hawks, dogs, and 
swift hunters among his most valuable presents. 

* Lewis's Hist. Pliny describes hawking as practised by the Thracians, among 
whom the hawk and the hunter shared the prey. — Lib. x. c. 8. 





CHAPTER X. 

OF THE PASTORAL STATE AND OF AGRICULTURE. 

The cattle of the Gauls who were accounted affluent, were their chief 
riches, and some of them, according to Caesar, lived entirely on their 
flesh and milk. The Celtic race were much attached to the pastoral life, 
for its freedom was suited to their state of refinement, and congenial to 
their independent spirit. The inhabitants of Britain, at the period of the 
first Roman descent, were for the most part in the pastoral state of soci- 
ety, and long after this epoch many of the tribes, like their remote an- 
cestors, continued to pay almost exclusive attention to their flocks, con- 
temning the servile and less advantageous task of cultivating the soil. 
Many parts of the island are adapted for grazing only, and those who 
inhabit the mountainous districts must continue to depend for subsistence 
on the produce of their herds. Although the wealth of the Highlands 
has always consisted of cattle, the poets have not indulged in rapturous 
encomiums on the shepherd state, for this reason, that the education of 
the men was entirely military, the care of the flocks being left to the 
women and youth. Caesar remarks the great numbers of cattle which 
were reared in Britain, and Solinus avers that Ireland was overstocked 
with them.* In Germany they were no less abundant, the inhabitants 
taking great dehght in the number of their flocks, which, according to 
Tacitus, formed their only wealth. The animals were, however, but of 
small size, for they appear to have been indifferent to their appearance; 



286 CATTLE.— GOATS. 

whereas the Gauls took so much delight in them, that they thought they 
could never pay too dear for a beautiful ox.* 

In the time of Severus, the people beyond Adrian's wall lived chiefly 
on the flesh and milk of their flocks, with what they procured by hunting. 
It is certain that at this early period the rude tribes of the north had do- 
mesticated numerous herds, it being customary for them to place cattle 
and sheep in the way of the Roman armies, to induce parties to straggle 
from the main body, and fall into their ambuscades. "f" A quarrel, con- 
cerning the bull of the heath of Golbun, forms the subject of an episode 
in the poem of " Fingal." Before the arrival of the Saxons, North 
Wales is said to have been chiefly appropriated for the pasturage of royal 
cattle, three herds of which consisted of 21,000 head. J The cattle and 
sheep of Scotland were anciently its chief resource; the numbers now 
raised for the supply of the English markets are immense, and it may 
with perfect truth be said of many of the Welsh, Irish, and Highland 
Scots, as it was of the ancient Gauls, that cattle are their only riches. 

The wild animals which inhabited the woods of Britain and Gaul, fur- 
nishing subsistence to the Celtic huntsmen, have been already described. 
The domestic animals can be here only briefly noticed. Those who are 
desirous of further information concerning the various improved breeds 
in the northern division of Britain, are referred to the Agricultural Re- 
ports, Transactions of the Highland Societies, the Statistical Returns, 
and other similar works, for more detailed accounts. 

There exists a belief that the inhabitants of Scotland had anciently 
domesticated a species of deer, and the tradition has received something 
like confirmation. A communication from H. Home Drummond, Esq., 
to the Wernerian Society of Edinburgh, describes a large stag's horn 
that was discovered in the great Blair Drummond moss, which had a 
piece of wood fitted into a circular perforation.^ It is not improbable 
that these animals were tamed, as the rein-deer are at present among the 
Laplanders. 

The Caledonian Ox was considerably larger than that of the present 
day, as may be seen from the skulls, which are frequently discovered at 
great depths. At Drumlanrig, a seat of the Duke of Queensberry, herds 
of wild cattle of a white color are still preserved. The Gaelic bual, a 
buffalo, or any wild horned beast, seems bu-all, or bo alluidh, a wild ox. 
The breeds of Highland cattle and their qualities are well known. 

The Goat, so useful a breed of animals in a mountainous country, is 
now much reduced in Scotland. In Inverness, Sutherland, Caithness, 
and other northern counties, there were formerly numerous flocks of 
goats, every farmer, about fifty years ago, having from twenty to one 
hundred. They wandered almost in unrestrained wildness in the moun- 
tains, and their flesh was good meat, while, during summer, cheese was 
made either of the milk alone, or of a mixture with that of the cow. 

* Bello Gall. t Dio. i Triad, 85. 

§ Letter read August, 1825. 



SHEEP. 287 

Their skins were an article of very early export, and in recent times 
could always fetch a shilling from the travelling chapman. In the Isles, 
a late visiter says they have almost disappeared. The goat is peculiarly 
fitted for a rugged country, for it can pick up subsistence in places to 
which the more timid sheep cannot venture, and is able to defend itself 
against the fox, so destructive to the latter. It is curious to find that the 
deer will pasture freely with goats, but evince a strong dislike to sheep 
Sheep formed a considerable part of the pastoral riches of the Celts. 
It would appear from what has been before observed, if we are to receive 
the doubtful testimony of D. Munro, that many were in a state of nature 
in his time, as they are said to have also continued until lately in the re- 
mote islands of Orkney and Shetland. There appears, however, in these 
assertions, an ignorance of grazing and sheep farming. Every mountain 
may be now found covered with sheep wild as deer, and to all appear- 
ance masterless, and where there were no foxes or other vermin to de- 
stroy them, the same was formerly observable; but each person's prop- 
erty was no doubt distinguished by the lug mark, or some other token. 
The flocks that range in freedom on the muirs, are collected four or five 
times in the course of the summer and autumn, and those gatherings 
exactly resemble the ancient hunt. The grazing range is surrounded 
silently, as early in the, day as possible, when a simultaneous cry of men 
and barking of dogs are set up, by which the timid animals are roused 
from all their haunts, and brought together in a narrow pass, where the 
flank or fold is erected. The native sheep were very different from the 
modern breed. The fleece was a sort of down, mixed with straight hairs 
of some length; the tail was short, slender, and tapering, and was thinly 
covered with long silvery hairs. They were remarkably tame, and very 
delicate, probably from the once invariable practice of housing them. 
The breeds of sheep have been so often crossed and intermixed, that the 
genuine native animal can scarcely be found. The original stock were 
small, and dun colored, particularly in the face, but, notwithstanding 
their hardiness, and some good qualities, few now remain. It appears 
from Cambrensis, that in Ireland the sheep were chiefly black. Some 
of the old Scots' sheep still exist in Galloway, and a few may be found in 
different parts of the Highlands. A recent traveller seems to think 
them confined to the remote island of Hirta, or St. Kilda,* but they ap- 
pear also to be found in Orkney and Shetland, and are supposed to have 
been originally brought from Norway. They were easily fed, their mut- 
ton was delicious, and their fleeces were sofl, to procure which it has 
been said that the wool was pulled off, a practice, which, there is reason 
to believe, did not, at least within traditional knowledge, prevail among 
the Highlanders, who have an appropriate name for sheep shears, but 
none for common scissors. It is not long since both sheep and goats 
were committed to the entire management, and hence have been thought 

* M'Culloch. An epithet by which this island is designated : Irt na'n caoiraicb 
feann, Hirta of the hairy sheep, is thought to indicate a pecuUar breed. 



288 SHEEP.-SWINE. 

the exclusive property of the wife, being considered beneath the atten- 
tion of a man, and so strong was this feeling that no man would con- 
descend to assist at the sheep-shearing. The Highlands are admira- 
bly adapted for rearing sheep, the fragrant herbage of the hills producing 
most delicious mutton. Many ages since, the inhabitants of various 
parts pursued with success the improvement of their stock. From before 
the middle of the sixteenth century, "all the districts of the shire of 
Aberdeen were distinguished for numerous flocks of sheep, which 
yielded fleeces of the finest wool."* Many Highland proprietors have 
of late turned their almost exclusive attention to sheep farming, and have 
followed their object with so much zeal, that whole districts have been 
depopulated, that they might be turned into extensive sheep walks! 
How far this may be ultimately of advantage to proprietors it is not easy 
to foresee, but its policy is certainly very objectionable. To force so great 
a number of the inhabitants to emigrate, and thus deprive the country of 
the services of a large proportion of the best part of the peasantry, is 
surely a serious national evil. Regiments can no longer be raised, in 
case of need, in those places where now are only to be seen the numer- 
ous flocks of the solitary shepherd. The piobrach may sound through the 
deserted glens, but no eager warriors will answer the summons; the last 
notes which pealed in many a valley were the, plaintive strains of the 
expatriated clansmen — Cha till, cha till, cha till, sin tuile, " we return, 
we return, we return no more." The necessity for thus expelling the 
tenantry is doubtful, the President of the Board of Agriculture having 
proved by experiment, that the Cheviot breed of sheep, so much esteem- 
ed by the farmer, could be introduced and thrive on the most bleak 
mountains, and a large proportion of the old inhabitants might be retain- 
ed in their possessions.^ 

The sheep has always been associated with our ideas of the pastoral 
life, and, from its inoffensive nature and great usefulness, has ever been 
a favorite with the shepherd, and the theme of rural song, and it is to be 
remarked, that while cattle-lifting was not considered dishonorable, a 
sheep stealer among the Highlanders was held infamous Although 
apparently a stupid animal, many curious proofs of its strong instinct 
might be adduced. The attachment of sheep to the place of their nativity 
is remarkable. They have been known to traverse great distances for 
the purpose of revisiting the scenes of their youth and rejoining their 
progeny. 

SvrmE, muic, were formerly numerous in the low country of Scot- 
land, but the Highlanders appear to have paid little attention to them, 
allowing them to roam in a state of nature. The breed has been inter- 
mixed with others, and much improved in size, by the encouragement 
of the Highland Society, and the native animal, which was small, is 
extinct, except perhaps in the Isle of Man and in the wilds of Sutherland, 

* Heron's Hist, of Scotland, v. 15. t Agric. Report. 



PASTURE. 289 

where a few still remain. The Scots retain an antipathy to pork; wheth- 
er derived from the ancient Celts, or the early Christians, is difficult to 
determine, and, although this aversion is disappearing, it is far from being 
eradicated. In the Agricultural Report for the county of Banff, it is 
stated that live swine have never yet been sold in any of the fairs of the 
north. Many places evince by their names that these animals must have 
been there found in considerable numbers. There is the Isle of Muc, 
Glen Muic, Mucross, &c. 

Those who attended the cattle were, by the ancient Britons, called 
Cheangon, retainers, and Paruis, herdsmen, whence some tribes, it is 
thought, were named by the Romans, Cangi and Parish. Goat herds 
were denominated Gabr and Gabrant, or Gabrantic* The laws of Wales 
provided for the pasturage in common of all the cattle of one place. 
The Aoireannan of the Highlanders are the " keepers of cattle," and 
are a sort of farm servants who have the charge of cultivating a certain 
portion of land, and taking care of the cattle it supports. They are 
allowed grass for two milk cows and six sheep, and had also the tenth 
sheaf, with the privilege of raising as much potatoes as they chose. 
The slaves of the ancient Irish, or those purchased or carried off from 
England, Wales, or the continent, were employed in tending the flocks. t 
In the old practice of folding cattle on the farm lands, the herds shelter 
themselves in a little hut of poles and pliant twigs, and this, called Bothan 
tothair, is an exact model, on a small scale, of the ancient British hut. 

The Cattle of the Celts were usually secured in a strong inclosure 
connected with the camp or fort, as may be seen by inspecting the plans 
of the ancient strongholds. At other times they were placed in inclo- 
sures formed, according to Brehon regulations, by trenches and banks, 
strengthened by stakes or live hedges to guard against the attacks of 
wolves and other ravenous animals, as well as the attempts of hostile 
tribes. There is reason to believe that means were found to secure the 
cattle near the Duns, as at Castle Coul, before described. Pennant says 
the Boaghun was the dun in which they were lodged. The Britons, 
according to Whitaker, had sheds, constructed of stone and wood, for 
this purpose, some of their ruins, 16 feet by 12, having been discovered 
at Manchester. 

Pliny says there was no better pasture than the German fields. J The 
Gauls had very extensive fields of grass, and it was mostly natural; the 
only artificial sort known to them being trefoil: but the superior manner 
in which these people prepared their lands, and the judicious use of 
marie, must have rendered them abundantly fertile. Their cattle were 
objects of great pride, and in their anxiety to improve the breed they 
showed themselves good farmers, and acquired the praise of others for 
their agricultural knowledge. It was remarked by Cato, and assented 

* Whitaker, on authority of Ptolemy and Richard of Cirencester. 
t Ware. t Lib. xvi. 4. 

37 



290 MODE OF PASTURAGE. 

to by Pliny,* that the best means of deriving profit from a farm was to 
feed cattle well. 

Since Scotland has become so destitute of wood, the pasture has 
materially suffered. The ground in the Straths, where the ancient woods 
have decayed, do not now yield a quarter of the grass it did when shel- 
tered by the foliage, and the farmer is not able to outwinter his cattle as 
formerly: but the bare hills and flats are now abundantly stocked with 
sheep, the animal whose increase is said to have been the chief reason 
of the destruction of the young trees, and consequent deterioration of the 
pasture. Notwithstanding the care of the Highland farmer, he often 
loses great numbers of his cattle from want of food. The variable cli- 
mate sometimes indeed reduces himself to want, but he frequently has 
his farm much overstocked, and the consequence, scarcity of provender 
in a severe winter, is certain, while to counteract the evil there are few 
means. In Strathdon, in Aberdeenshire, the people are accustomed to 
take heath tops for winter store with advantage; and when the cattle can 
be turned out they assist them to this food by clearing the snow from 

it-t 

In the early stages of society, before land is regularly divided among 
the members of a tribe,the shepherds freely move from pasture to pasture 
as in the days of the patriarchs. The Suevi, the chief nation at one 
time in Germany, had no inclosure, but moved to new situations every 
year. Britain, says Gildas, abounds in hills that are very convenient 
for the alternate pasture of flocks and herds, which most certainly alludes 
to the ancient practice still preserved among the Scots Highlanders, and 
formerly a remarkable characteristic of the Irish, who maintained abun- 
dance of cattle. Spenser describes them as leading a wandering life, 
driving their herds continually with them, and feeding only on their 
milk and white meats, a practice which was called boolying.J This 
vagrant life, so like to that of the Scythians, seems to have given rise, 
as before observed, to the name of Scots, common to certain parts of the 
population of both countries. It has been long impossible for any among 
the civilized nations of Europe to pursue exactly this itinerant life, but 
in Scotland, where a large tract of mountainous country is annexed to 
a farm, the owner still continues to move his flocks in something resem- 
bling the ancient manner. 

After the Irish rebellion, in 1641, several wandering clans, under the 
name of creaghs, or plunderers, overran the country with their numerous 
flocks, so much to the annoyance of the English settlers, that it was found 
necessary to restrain their perambulations by public authority.^ The 
Highlanders were till lately universally accustomed to move from the 
Bailte Geamhre, or winter towns, to the Arich, or breeding grounds, in 
the hills; every davoch, or tenpenny land, and even each farm, having 

* Lib. xviii. v. \ Stat. Account, xv. 463. t Page 35. 

§ Coll. reb. flib. ii. p. 2^b. Boauford's Diss, on Irish Language. 



MODE OF PASTURAGE. 291 

a certain portion of mountain territory for this purpose.* Here the 
seisgach, or dry cattle, remained during the winter, if not too severe, 
while the others were brought down to the more sheltered homesteading 
in the glen. Spenser says, in Ireland each cantred maintained 400 cows 
in four herds kept apart. In Scotland, where there existed any right of 
common pasturage, the number of cattle which each individual was en- 
titled to turn out was according to the number which he could fodder in 
winter on his own farm, and the proportions, in case of dispute, were 
settled by a form of law called an action of souming and rouming. The 
ancient practice, which is still fondly adhered to where practicable, is 
thus described by an intelligent proprietor of Sutherland. "The princi- 
pal farmers, who reside in the straths, or valleys, along the banks of the 
streams, have extensive grazings in the mountains where the cattle are 
driven in the summer. Early in the spring a person, who has the name 
of Poindler, is sent to these hill pastures to prevent strange cattle from 
trespassing, and when the crop is sown and the peats cut, the guidwife 
and her maids, with some of the male part of the family occasionally, set 
out with the milk cows and goats, and take up their residence in the 
Shealing or Airie, which is a hut, or bothy, with one apartment, perhaps 
12 feet square, for the purpose of eating and sleeping in, another of a simi- 
lar size for the milk vessels, and, in general, there is a small fold to keep 
the calves apart from the cows. Here they employ themselves indus- 
triously in making butter and cheese, living on the produce of their 
flocks, some oatmeal, and a little whiskey, contented, happy, and healthy, 
dancing to the pipes or the melody of their own voices, and singing their 
old native songs, not only in the intervals of work, but in milking their 
flocks, who listen with pleasure and attention to the music, particularly 
to an air appropriate to the occupation, of which the animals even evince 
a fondness. Here they remain for about six weeks, the men occasionally 
returning to the homestead to collect their peats, and perform any other 
necessary work, when the pasture becoming exhausted, they all return 
to the farm, and leave the yeld, or young cattle and horses, to roam at 
freedom among the hills until the severity of winter drive them home. 
The practice was to rear a calf for every two cows, and after the family 
were served with the product of the dairy there were twenty-four to 
thirty pounds of butter, and as much cheese from each cow."! 

The temperature of the milk in churning is ascertained by the sound 
of the cream. When harsh, it indicates its being too cold, but when 
sufficiently warm, it is soft. 

Rennet of a deer, lamb, or hare's stomach, are indifferently used by 
the Highlanders for coagulating the milk: sometimes the gizzards of 
fowls are applied for this purpose, and the stomach of a sow is said to be 
preferable ta any other. The old practice was to convert the cream 

* Grant's Thoughts on the Gael. This intelligent writer believes the name of 
Argyle, anciently spelt Aregael, and applied to a great proportion of the Highlands, 
signifies the breeding grounds of the Gael. t Agric. Report. 



292 TREATMENT OF CATTLE WHEN DISEASED. 

into butter and the skimmed milk into cheese, but there is little sweet 
milk cheese now made. The old mode of curd cut into large pieces is 
therefore in a great measure given up. It is a very old custom in the 
Hio-hlands to mix aromatic herbs with the rennet, a practice that has 
recently been recommended as a great improvement by some English 
writers, by whom it is thought a new discovery. 

The ancient Celts had some singular methods of treating their cattle 
when ill, and superstitious observances to protect them from mischief. 
They were accustomed to take as much of limeum or belenium as could 
be laid on an arrow head, which was put in three measures of liquid and 
poured down the animal's throat. What disease this prescription was 
designed to cure does not appear, but the cattle were fastened to stakes 
until it had ceased to operate, for they often went mad from its effects. 
Samolus, march wort, or fenberry, which was gathered with peculiar 
ceremonies, was laid in the troughs where cattle drank, in order to save 
them from all diseases.* 

The Highlanders, as may be supposed, have many superstitions re- 
garding their cattle, and indulge in many absurd ceremonies, some of 
which may have at the same time originated in satisfactory experiment, 
and acknowledged efficacy of prescription. The manner in which the 
disease, or accident, called elf-shot, is successfully treated, has been 
before described. On new year's day it is a practice deemed salutary 
for the cattle, to burn before them the branches of juniper. It is com- 
mon to the Highlanders and Irish to keep a large oval-shaped crystal, 
the virtue of which is, that water being poured on it and administered to 
the animals, they are sained, or preserved from many evils that would 
otherwise befall them. Mountain-ash and honey-suckle, placed in the 
cowhouse on the second of May, we may be assured, has not been 
resorted to without undeniable experience of much good. Most of these 
superstitious customs have no doubt existed since the days of Paganism, 
their object being to counteract the designs of evil spirits. Witches, war 
locks, and other " uncanny" persons, are now the chief objects of dread, 
and to baffle their diabolical efforts the farmer exerts his utmost skill 
and faith. Reginald Scot's " special charm to preserve all cattel from 
witchcraft," is doubtless a secret well worth knowing. 

While on the subject it may not be amiss to describe some of the 
methods by which the Highlanders endeavor to cure their cattle when 
diseased, and guard them from impending illness. To prevent the 
spreading of that direful disease called the blackquarter, the animal is 
taken to a house into which no cattle are ever after to enter, and there 
the heart is taken out while the creature is yet alive, and being hung up 
in the place where the other cattle are kept, it preserves them from death. 
A live trout, or frog, is put down the throat to cure what is called blood- 
grass. Murrain, or hastie, a complaint with which an animal is sudden 
ly seized, becoming s welled, breathing hard, Avith water flowing from 

* Pliny, xxiv. c. 9. 



DROVERS. 293 

the eyes, and dying in a few hours, is treated in a peculiar manner. The 
disease is less frequent since the decay of the woods, but it appears in 
so malignant a form, for dogs who eat of the carcass are poisoned, that 
it is firmly believed to be the effect of supernatural agency. To defeat 
the sorceries, certain persons who have the power to do so are sent for, 
to raise the Needfire. Upon any small river, lake, or island, a circular 
booth of stone or turf is erected, on which a couple, or rafter of birch- 
tree, is placed, and the roof covered over. In the centre is set a per- 
pendicular post, fixed by a wooden pin to the couple, the lower end 
being placed in an oblong groove on the floor; and another pole is placed 
horizontally, between the upright post and the leg of the couple, intr> 
both which, the ends, being tapered, are inserted. This horizontal tim- 
ber is called the auger, being provided with four short arms, or spokes, 
by which it can be turned round. As many men as can be collected are 
then set to work, having first divested themselves of all kinds of metal, 
and two at a time continue to turn the pole by means of the levers, while 
others keep driving wedges under the upright post so as to press it against 
the auger, which by the friction soon becomes ignited. From this the 
Needfire is instantly procured, and all other fires being immediately 
quenched, those that are re-kindled both in dwelling-house and offices 
are accounted sacred, and the cattle are successively made to smell them. 
This practice is believed to have arisen from the BaaJtein, or holy fires 
of the Druids. Sometimes the diseased aninlal is brought, and held with 
its tongue pulled out, for about fifteen minutes, over a sooty turf fire, 
and the sods from the roof are at other times put in a pot with live coal 
and a quantity of good strong ale. 

The Highland drovers, or those persons who are intrusted with the 
charge of bringing the cattle from the mountains to the southern markets, 
are a class of considerable importance, and their occupation is peculiar 
to their country. The drover was a man of integrity, for to his care was 
committed the property of others to a large amount. He conducted the 
cattle by easy stages across the country in tractways, which, whilst they 
were less circuitous than public roads, were softer for the feet of the ani- 
mals, and he often rested at night in the open field with his herds. These 
trusty factors often come as far as Barnet, and even to London. In one 
of Sir Walter Scott's novels, the Chronicles of the Canongate I believe, 
is a spirited description of one of these Celts. 

I am not aware of the rules which may have regulated the division of 
a cattle spoil, farther than that there was generally a mutual division, 
among the ancient Celts. The Highland practice, as before stated, was 
to give two thirds to the chief, but whether any particular rights existed 
among the Gael, as we find in other nations, does not appear. A con- 
stable was anciently entitled to all cattle without horns, horses unshod, 
and hogs taken in foraging, and the marshal received all spotted cattle.* 
If any one in the Highlands could claim horses without shoes he would 
* Edmonson's Heraldry. 



294 AGRICULTURE. 

have taken all. In a following chapter will be seen the perquisites 
which some individuals in Celtic society received when cattle were 
slaughtered. 

The cattle of the Gael were the temptation to mutual wars and unre- 
lenting feuds, and they were the estimable reward of enterprising war- 
riors. The herds often changed owner's during the continuance of war. 
In 1626, we find the Governor of Ireland takmg 4000 cows from the 
Burkes; and in 1587, Tyrone carries off 2000 cows, and a great number 
of garrons, &c., from Sir Arthur O'lVeal. These were respectable 
creachs, and seem to justify the title which the Highlander claimed for 
the cattle lifters, — gentlemen drovers. 

AGRICULTURE. 

The Celtae, although much attached to the pastoral life, were not in- 
attentive to the advantages of agriculture. The sterner tribes did not 
to be sure apply themselves with much assiduity to that or any other 
pursuit, save those of war and plunder; thinking with the Germans, of 
whom Tacitus speaks, that it was stupid to gain by their labor, what 
could be more quickly acquired by their blood, but in general they cul- 
tivated a greater or less proportion of ground. 

The Belgic part of the population of Britain is described by Caesar as 
practising agriculture to a considerable extent, while the Celts, or tribes 
of the interior, are represented as neglecting or remaining ignorant of 
this useful art, paying exclusive attention to the pasturage of numerous 
flocks. This description has led to the belief that the cultivation of the 
soil was entirely confined to the Belgians, and even introduced by them, 
but the expression does not warrant this supposition. That the inland 
tribes were not ignorant of agriculture, but did raise corn, is certain. It 
may, at the same time, be readily admitted, that the local and commer- 
cial advantages of the inhabitants of the southern provinces stimulated 
them to greater diligence, but they were not the sole agriculturists in the 
island. The rich fields of corn which Coesar found on the south and west 
coasts, a fortunate acquisition for the sustenance of his troops, most like- 
ly struck him as a peculiarity on observing the numerous herds and the 
limited crops in the interior. From the address of Bonduca to her army 
it is apparent that agriculture was not unknown to those tribes denomi- 
nated Celtic, however limited the extent of their operations may have been. 

It has been asserted, from^he speech which Tacitus assigns to Gal- 
gacus, that the art of procuring sustenance by the culture of the ground 
was unknown to the Caledonians, but an attentive perusal of the pas- 
sage will show that this inference is not quite fair; the warrior only 
reminds his countrymen that, while free, they had no fields to cultivate 
for a master.* Dio Nicaeus, who relates that the people north of Adri- 
an's wall had no cultivated lands, but lived on the produce of their flocks. 

* Vita Agric. § 3L 



AGRICULTURE. 295 

is also brought forward as authority on this subject, but his assertion 
cannot be unhesitatingly admitted. Strabo enumerates grain among the 
British exports, and it is well known that, shortly after the Romans had 
settled in the island, large quantities of corn were annually transported to 
the continent, for the supply not only of their friends, but the armies of 
the Romans. It is true that this increased industry in agricultural labor 
is attributed to Roman incitement, but as that people had not to teach 
the Celts how to improve their soil, but, on the contrary, found them 
enterprising agriculturists, the reasonable explanation of the fact is, 
that the Britons only availed themselves of the new opening for the sale 
of their grain. The same energy was exerted by the nations of the con- 
tinent, Gauls, Germans, and Celtiberians; when subdued by the Roman 
arms, they found a profitable market for the produce of their fields, but 
these nations followed agriculture with success long before they became 
tributary to Rome. 

Malmutius was a celebrated British legislator on agriculture. The 
laws of Moelmus, who is perhaps the same individual, are now believed 
to be lost.* The Welsh Chronicles celebrate Eltud, or Eltutus and 
others, as the authors of different improvements in the system of field 
labor. 

The laborers of the ground were called by the ancient Highlanders, 
Draonaich, the genuine name, it is thought, of the Picts."!" The people 
of the eastern coast, where agriculture could be pursued with success, 
were so designated by the western Gael, and vestiges of the habitations 
of the Draonaich are found within the limits of the ancient Caledo- 
nia, proving the meaning of the appellation synonymous with Pict, and 
still retained by the Gael. The sites of these houses are scarcely ever 
found without the visible marks of former cultivation on the adjoining 
heath. 

Although the inhabitants of the plains, who devoted themselves to the 
cultivation of the ground, were called Draonaich, "yet a certain portion 
of the people residing among the Gael of the mountains, were also known 
by the same denomination; of which important fact the most complete 
evidence remains to this day. The foundations of the houses of those 
who employed themselves in the cultivation of the soil are distinguished 
by the appellation Larach tai Draoneach, (the foundation of a house of 
a Draonaich or Pict.) These are very numerous in many parts of the 
country, and are, without exception, of a circular form, with the entrance 
to the house regularly fronting due east. In the neighborhood of the 
place of residence of the writer of these sheets, within the bounds of the 
ancient Caledonian forest, there are cultivated fields; which further 
proves the fact, that the term Draonaich was not exclusively appropriat- 
ed to the people inhabiting the more level country of Scotland, but was 
applied also to the cultivators of the soil in the mountainous parts of the 
country. Druim a Dhraonaich and Ach a Dhraonaich are fields well 

* Roberts. t Grant's Thoughts on the Gael. 



296 AGRICULTURE. 

known in the western part of the valley of Urquhart, lying to the west- 
ward of Lochness; and still farther to the westward, in the adjacent valley 
of Strathglass, there is a cuUivated field called An Draonachc. And 
even at this day the people who possess the arable lands in the bottom of 
the valley in the vicinity of Draonachc, and who have been, for a long 
period of time, remarked to be more industrious than their neighbors, 
are called Draonaich Bhail na h amhn (the Draonaich of the River 
town,) which is a village situated by the side of the river Glass, running 
through the valley. When a man is observed employing himself in 
laborious exertion upon the soil, it is a common expression among the 
Highlanders, be'n Draoneach e, that is, he is truly a Draoneach, The 
Gael of the mountains were divided into two classes, Arich and Draon- 
aich. The first were the cattle breeders, and the other were the culti- 
vators of the soil, and indeed comprehended all persons who practised 
an art. Accordingly in Ireland, Draoneach signifies an artist, and 
Draonachas, an artifice." 

" The foundations of the houses of the Draonaich are so numerous 
in some parts of the Highlands, as to afford the most decisive evidence 
that the number of the cultivators of the soil must have been, in very 
ancient times, prior to the knowledge of the plough, very considerable."* 

When mankind first associate together, and apply themselves to culti- 
vate the earth, it is done by the joint labor of all the members of the 
community, who have an equal right to the crop that is produced, and 
will receive proportions of it according to their wants, but after a village 
has been some time settled, and the inhabitants advanced in civilisation, 
this common property in the land is generally abolished. Each individ- 
ual is considered entitled to the produce of his own labor, and as he 
continues to possess the same parcel of land, he is understood to have a 
certain right to it, and thus either by prescription, or allotment, the tracts 
under cultivation become distributed among all the members. In regu- 
lating these divisions, as in the management of the common property, the 
chief exercises his delegated power. The right he assumes of disposing 
of the public possessions is naturally acknowledged, and by retaining for 
himself an extent sufficient to support his rank, he acquires an additional 
authority, and subjects the different proprietors to the observance of 
certain conditions necessary for the general welfare. Such is the 
natural progress of mankind in the advance of civilisation, but this 
tendency to an early division of the land is counteracted by various 
circumstances. Poverty, the rudeness of husbandry, the relationship 
of the members, and an adherence to ancient custom, with a strong 
impatience of any thing like an infringement of their equal rights, com- 
bine to prevent a separation of interest. Under the patriarchal or 
clannish system of government, where the claims of consanguinity are 
so strong, mutual labor and assistance continue, and the practice of 

* Grant's Thoughts on the Gael, p. 280. 



COMMON HOLDIN G.— BOUNDARIES. . 29Tf 

cultivating the land in common, once so universal in Scotland, where it 
still lingers among the Celtic inhabitants, is the ancient mode of conduct- 
ing agricultural operations. 

The Suevi, a powerful nation of Germany, who were distinguished for 
their attention to agriculture, pursued their rural occupations under the 
following regulations: the tribe consisted of 200,000 fighting men, and 
of these one half went yearly to the wars, where they served for twelve 
months, returning to take the place of the others, who, in like manner, 
took the field for the same period of service. The individuals seem to 
have had a certain quantity of land assigned to them, but no man was 
allowed to remain more than one year in the same place.* The Vaccaei, 
a nation of the higher Iberia, now Leon, every year divided their land, 
ploughing and tilling it in common. After harvest they distributed the 
fruits in equal proportions, and it was death to steal or abstract any thing 
from the husbandman. | The Germans, who raised corn only, and made 
no orchards, moved from land to land, and still assigning portions suita- 
ble to the number of persons, parcelled out the whole lands according to 
the condition and quality of each individual, every year changing and 
cultivating a fresh soil. J The partition of land did not preclude the ex- 
istence of common holding among the members of a tribe or community, 
whose territorial possessions were, by public consent, reserved for them- 
selves. All disputes concerning inheritances, and the limits of fields, 
were settled by the Druids. § 

The practice of common holding still remains in the western isles of 
Scotland, and ia many parts of the Highlands, and has not long been 
abolished in many districts. An act of Scots parliament, 1695, author- 
ized the division of lands lying run rig, the term by which this common 
property was distinguished. |1 Under such a system it is not easy to 
regulate the proportions very nicely: there are generally more people 
living on lands so managed, than are taken into calculation, but, " ab- 
surd as the common field system is at this day, it was admirably suited 
to the circumstances of the times in which it originated; the plan having 
been conceived in wisdom, and executed with extraordinary accuracy. IT 
One of its evils was, that sometimes none would commence work while 
any individual who ought to attend was absent, but this must have been 
in an ill regulated township. In the most western counties of England 
there is no common field. The lord lets ofl!" a portion of the common for 
two crops, when it is allowed to become pasture again. 

When the land is cultivated in common, boundary lines scarcely 
appear necessary. The Suevi, Caesar observes, had no inclosure: the 

* Caesar. This writer describes them as excellent agriculturists, yet he says they 
lived on milk and flesh. Is he inaccurate, or did these people, like some of the Scyth- 
ians, raise corn to sell, and not to eat ? t Diodorus Siculus. 

t Tacitus. He says of one of their tribes, they laborod with more assiduity in agri- 
culture than suited the laziness of other Germans. § Caesar. 

II It was also called Rig and Rennal. II Loudon's Agriculture, p. 504. 

38 



298 BOUNDARIES. 

Romans themselves appear to have had no other mark of separation than 
a statue of Terminus.* The old divisions of land were, when practica- 
ble, regulated by natural boundaries, that were sometimes nicely deter- 
mined by the point of a hill, whence the water was observed running to 
either side. It was also a most ancient custom, all over the Highlands, 
to build head dykes, or walls, that were erected where there appeared a 
natural demarcation between the green pasture and the barren heath. 
Within this dyke was the arable and meadow land of the farms, while 
beyond that line the cattle, horses, goats, and sheep, fed in common. In 
the Highlands are often seen the vestiges of inclosures that exhibit 
marks of great antiquity, concerning the original use of which the inhab- 
itants have lost all knowledge; the ridges of stones, visible at a consid- 
erable distance, and displaying extended white lines along the brown 
heath, may, with propriety, be referred to this mode of laying out lands. 
Inclosures are often very improperly formed of the turf, or surface of 
the adjoining land. Galloway, or rickle dykes, are much esteemed in 
Dumbartonshire and other Highland districts. This fence is construct- 
ed of stones loosely piled up to the height of four or five feet, every'tier 
being less in size, and at the top the stones are wide apart. The fabric 
seems too open and ill constructed to last long, but it is found to be dur- 
able. The stones being placed with the thickest end upwards, act in 
some degree like the key stones of an arch, and the wall opposes little 
resistance to the wind. This is an excellent protection against sheep 
who will not venture to scale such an erection. According to the co- 
operation system, neighboring proprietors joined in the erection of boun- 
dary or march walls. In 1577, we find the Deemsters of Man enforcing 
an ancient practice, that persons whose lands were contiguous should 
be at the mutual expense of forming the respective inclosures. By the 
Welsh laws the husbandman had a right to the second best of every 
three hogs, sheep, goats, geese, or hens, that trespassed on his corn. 
This enactment shows the care of that people to secure to every one the 
produce of his industry; it was afterwards modified: only one out of fif- 
teen hogs, thirty sheep, goats, geese, 8cc. being awarded to the com- 
plainant, and if there were not so many animals, the compensation was 
made in money. For the encouragement of agriculture no less than 
eio^hty-six laws were made by the Welsh. If any one obtained permis- 
sion to lay dung on another man's lands, he was allowed the use of them 
for one year; and if the dung was in such quantity as required carts, the 
term was extended to three years. If the lands of another were cleared 
of wood, and rendered arable, the person who did so enjoyed their pro- 
duce for five years, and a person who folded his cattle on another's field 
without objection, for one twelve months, was entitled to cultivate it four 
years after. 

From the nature of society, it is evident that farms or portions of land 

* Virgil's Georgics, iii. 212, &c. 



SIZE OF FARMS. . ^ 299 

possessed and labored by individuals must have been small. In other 
words the land must have been subdivided, without a great disparity in 
the quantities of the different allotments. It was one of the earliest 
regulations of the Romans to assign every man two acres of land. The 
jugerum, or as much as could be ploughed in one day with a yoke of 
oxen, was reckoned a sufficient reward to a deserving officer, and to re- 
ceive the half of a quartarius, or a pint of adoreum, a sort of fine red 
wheat, was esteemed an honorable testimony of public respect.* 

Steel-bow tenants in Scotland, received corn, straw, agricultural im- 
plements, Stc, from the proprietor, on condition of their restoration at the 
end of the tack or agreement, and were bound to share the produce 
with the landlord. The old system of agriculture encouraged the resi- 
dence of numerous laborers or cottars around the house of a farmer, who 
enjoyed their cottage, and a patch of ground as a vegetable garden, for 
which they paid small or no rent. In the Highlands, the malair, a per- 
son of the same order, was in the same condition. His sole dependence 
was not on the employment which the land on which he resided gave 
him, but he was bound to allow his services to the farmer in harvest and 
on other occasions. There were no day laborers in the Highlands. 
Their pride and sense of equality prevented them from working for a 
neighbor, although many toiled in the low country for very small reward. 
Improvements in Agriculture have led to the disappearance in many 
places of this class of peasantry, and it is long since the desire to in- 
crease the size of farms has destroyed the more equable division of land. 
Pliny says that large farms had been the ruin of the Roman provinces, 
and would eventually prove the ruin of the whole state. j" How far 
they are to be considered national evils in these days, I am not pre- 
pared to state. The country may be depopulated, and the numerical 
strength of a state may not be lessened, those who can no longer live as 
farmers taking up their residence in towns; in the Highlands, however, 
the ancient tenants who have been displaced, unable to gain a livelihood 
by their handicraft, have forever bidden farewell to their native soil, and 
sought an asylum in the wilds of America. A farm in Argyle, eighteen 
or twenty miles long, and three to four broad, is said, by Doctor Robert- 
son, of Dalmenie, to be the largest in Britain. The sheep farm of Gal- 
lovie, in Badenoch, is about twelve miles long, and from eight to ten 
broad, which makes it at least ninety-six square miles, consequently six- 
teen square miles larger than that in Argyle. One at Balnagowan, in 
Sutherland, contains 37,000 acres. A Highland farm may be generally 
described as a certain part of a valley, stretching on either side of the 
burn or stream by which it is watered. To every possession, large and 

* Pliny xviii. 3. Hence, by metononiy adorea, the quantity distributed came to sig- 
nify honor, praise, &c. The first institution of Romulus was twelve v/ardens of corn 
fields, Ibid. 2 ; and it shows how important they considered the protection of agricul- 
ture, that when Carthage was taken, the only articles saved were twenty eight books, 
which were written by Mago on that subject. t Lib. xviii. 6. 



300 SIZE OF FARMS.— LAND MEASURES. 

• 

small, a share of arable, meadow, pasture, and muir land was allotted. 
The best part of the farm was distinguished as infield and outfield, the 
former being generally under crop, and in good state; the latter consist- 
ing of places not fit for tillage, but appropriated to pasture the cattle, 
and produce a little hay. Beyond this, and separated by the head dyke, 
was the common heath, extending to the summit of the mountains. Near 
the house was also the door land, which served for baiting the horse of 
a visiter at meal time, or such like. Crofters, or smaller farmers, had 
no outfield. In officiaries, which were generally an ancient barony, but 
sometimes a modern division of one to three or more square miles, the 
ground officer regulated the management of the farms, fixed boundaries, 
and settled disputes, in which he was assisted by the Birlaw or Boorlaw 
men, a sort of rural jury. The more ancient Gaelic practice was, how- 
ever, to refer the decision of any controversy to the oldest men of the 
clan, who determined according to the Clechda or traditional precedents, 
and their award was enforced by the chief. Several ancient terms, ex- 
pressive of the extent of land, are still preserved. Davach is a common 
denomination, and is equivalent to four ploughs.* Many farms in Scot- 
land retain the name, and a well known toast in Strathbogie is the forty- 
eight davach, alluding to the possessions of the Duke of Gordon in that 
district. 

A Carucate is a term anciently in very general use, and is expressive 
of as much arable land as could be managed with one plough, and the 
beasts belonging thereto, in a year, with pasture, houses, &c. for the 
persons and cattle. | 

An Oxgate was a certain extent of land, recognised in the later periods 
of Scots' history. On the Uth of March, 1585, " The lords fand that 
thirteen aikers sail be ane oxengate; and four oxengate of land sail be 
ane pound land of auld extent.".]: The old extent was made about 1190, 
and remained in force until 1474. 

The only mode of ascertaining the extent of arable land seems to be 
from the quantity of grain sown. The usual calculation is, that a boll 
of seed is required to an acre, hence land is let by this allowance, and 
by the number of cattle that it will maintain: but this valuation is not 
strictly correct, for if the land be good, a less quantity is used, and if bad, 
more is required; it is, however, a general guide for proprietors. Ara- 
ble § land in Galloway, and most parts of the Highlands, is still reckon- 
ed by pence, farthings, and octos. The penny land is generally allowed 
to contain eight acres, consequently a farthing is two acres, and an octo 
is one, or a boll's sowing. 

In Lochaber the land is reckoned by pence, farthings, and octos, but 
in Badenoch, and I believe in Strathspey, &c., it is reckoned in marks, 
eighty marks being equivalent to an octo, and eight octos making a 

* Shaw. t Preface to Domesday Book. t Harl. MS. 4628 

§ Arable is d^irivcd from aratns. ploughed, a Latin word of Greek extract. Ar, in 
Gaelic, is Agriculture, and in old Celtic was earth. 



RENTS. 301 

davach. On the old system, a quarter davach was reckoned a sufficient 
possession for a gentleman, and this quantity was generally attached to 
every bailie or farm town. A good grazing quarter davach will support 
from twenty to thirty milk cows, and a proportion of yeld cattle and 
horses, yielding them sufficient fodder. The mountain skirting the 
Strath, and attached to the bailie, was fed in common by the cattle of the 
davach, and was divided by water or land marks from the mountain of 
the next valley, but the people of as many as four or five davachs some- 
times grazed in common, in the more distant summer sheilings or ruidhs. 
As many as eighty bothies might be seen on the plain of Altloy, in 
Drummin, in Badenoch, and the same on the plain of Killin, in Strath- 
Eric, a spot of itself worth a journey from London to see, about five 
miles above the celebrated Fall of Fyers. 

Rents were obviously at first paid in kind' or by certain quantities of 
produce. This originating in early society, remained an unavoidable 
mode of payment in countries destitute of a sufficient quantity of coin to 
render the barter of commodities unnecessary. By the laws of Ina, in 
the end of the seventh century, a farm often hides or plough lands, paid 
ten casks of honey, three hundred loaves, twelve casks strong ale, thirty 
of small ale, two oxen, ten wethers, ten geese, twenty hens, ten cheeses, 
one cask of butter, five salmon, one hundred eels, and twenty pounds 
forage.* 

In Scotland all sorts of domestic cattle and poultry, and the grain rais- 
ed on the land, or proportions of meal, under the name of customs, were 
commonly rendered until late years, and still form the chief amount of 
rent in many places. Muir fowl, salmon, loads of peats and dry wood, 
Stc, were by no means uncommon in rentals. Tenants were also for- 
merly bound to indefinite servitudes or feudal duties, under the name of 
arriage and carriage, or services used and wont, but by the act abol- 
ishing ward holdings, no services, except to mills, can be exacted that 
are not specially mentioned in leases or terms of agreement. The cus- 
tomary duties were certain days' work in seed time, hay and corn har- 
vest, the leading or bringing home firing, &c. These services being 
often useless, from the non-j-esidence of the proprietor, and money be- 
coming more common, and being found a much more convenient medium 
of settlement, were often commuted for the legal coin. In the rental of 
the Bishoprick of Aberdeen, in the beginning of the seventeenth century, 
we see the gradual conversion of customs into money, and the improve- 
ment of society. As an instance, " The lands of Clovach, in the paro- 
chen of Kyldrymie, sett to Lumsden ffiar £9. 6s. 8d. One mart, twelve 
kidds, four geese, 3s. 4d. for bondage and services, 37s. 4d. for grassum, 
and 6s. 8d. of augmentation." j 

The following enumeration of the diffisrent sorts of grain raised by the 
Celts, with accompanying observations, are perhaps more curious than 
important, but are not irrelevant to the subject now under consideration. 

* Wilkins's Leges Saxonicce, p. 25. t Harl. MS. 4613. 



302 DESCRIPTIONS OF GRAIN. 

Corn, originally the natural production of the earth, was certainly 
cultivated by the Britons, before they were visited by the Roman le- 
gions. The Germans raised much oats. Barley, the most ancient food 
of mankind, had been long familiar to all the Celtas,* and in Iberia they 
raised two crops of it in the year. That ancient historian Herodotus 
says, that the Egyptians neither used wheat nor barley, which were then 
. common in other countries.| The wheat of the Gauls and Britons was 
light, and of a red color, receiving the name of brance, breic, or brae, 
from its bright appearance. J It was also called by the Romans Sanda- 
lium, or more properly, it should seem, Scandalum, both terms being 
derived, according to Whitaker, from the red brogs of the Celtos. San- 
dalium is indeed the Latin name of a shoe, but it does not appear to have 
been applied to those of the Celts, and the name of the wheat is various- 
ly written sandalum, scandalum, scadalam, &c. In some parts of Italy, 
Dalechamp observes, the word scandella is still in use. § This grain 
was peculiar to Gaul, and is celebrated by Pliny as of all others most neat 
and fair, yielding more bread by four pounds in every modius or bushel, 
husked and dried, than any other sort, [j That called Arinca was also a 
native of Gaul, and made the sweetest bread.lT The siligo, or white 
wheat, was chiefly raised in Gallia comata, among the Averni and Se- 
quani; the Allobroges called it blancheen, as the modern French say 
Ble-blanche. In Aquitain much panicurn was grown, a sort of wheat 
resembling millet, which last was the chief crop among the Sarmatae.** 
The Thracian wheat was very good, being heavy, and ripening remarka- 
bly quick. "f "I" Our researches do not procure much information concern- 
ing the qualities of British grain in ancient times. It appears that 
Gwent Iscoed, a native appellation for part of Monmouthshire, was noted 
for abundance of wheat and honey; Dyfed, or Pembrokeshire, for bar- 
ley and wine, while the staple of Carnarvon was barley alone. J J One 
Coll ap Coll frewi, in the sixth century, is said to have introduced the 
culture of wheat and barley to the Welsh, oats having been the chief 
grain previously grown. Gildas says the Britons when at peace raised 
all sorts of grain in the greatest abundance. In Scotland oats are the 
chief produce, and the chief food also, as all who have turned to the 
word in Johnson's Dictionary are aware. Great quantities of barley are 
likewise grown, but wheat, except in the southern and more champaign 
districts, is not very common. 

From the marks of cultivation on the acclivity of mountains, and on 
the summits of hills, so generally observable in Scotland and in Ireland, 
it has been supposed that the population must have been considerably 
greater formerly than it is now. These appearances are of themselves 
no decisive proof of this, for the high grounds were evidently cultivated 

* Barley bread was anciently given to the Roman sword players, who were hence 
called Hordoarii. Pliny, xviii. t Lib. ii. c. 36. t Whitaker. 

§ Comment, ed. 1663, iii. p. 427. || Lib. xviii. 7, 10. 11 Ibid. 

** Pliny. tt Ibid. n Triad, 101. 



ANCIENT AGRICULTURE. 303 

when the straths were obstructed by impervious woods.* The ancient 
farmers also preferred the security of the hill, to the risk which the 
haugh presented from the floods of autumn, an evil much to be dreaded 
in those moist climates, and they were, doubtless, careful to preserve the 
natural pasturage in the valleys, which no artificial means could supply 
on the hills. Another opinion is very prevalent. Where the marks of 
cultivation are found in Scotland, they are often considered the memori- 
als of recent periods of scarcity, and the ravages of the civil wars, by 
which the proprietor becoming ruined, was obliged to abandon his farm; 
and it is argued that, in a short period of neglect the ground will become 
overspread with heath. It is true that this may be the case, but it is, 
from the ridges which remain, sufficiently apparent that those fields are 
recognised, and they may have been formed in very remote ages. There 
are many proofs in the pages of national history that the Scots were at an 
early period actively engaged in agriculture; they seem to have been 
equally celebrated as keepers of cattle and laborers of the ground, in 
both which occupations they are at present surpassed by no people. 
The Scots of Ireland were formerly noted for their assiduity in improv- 
ing the land, for which they were much disliked by the less diligent 
natives.! On the submission of O'Neal, he solicited aid to assist him 
in expelling them, the manuring and fertilizing the ground appearing to 
be a chief cause of offence. J 

In 1269, we find it recorded as a great calamity, that a frost in Scot- 
land prevented ploughing from the 20th Nov. to the 2nd of February. 
In 1298, while the English were besieging Dirleton Castle, they were 
obliged to subsist on the peas and beans which they gathered in the 
fields,^ and in 1336, a feud in Lothian laid one hundred ploughs idle.|l 
Those facts, it must be allowed, relate to parts of the country that were 
not then Gaelic, but they show that agriculture was by no means neg- 
lected in distant ages. As the Highlanders, from their numbers of cat- 
tle, had it always in their power to supply themselves with corn in the 
Lowlands, and found it necessary to take grain in exchange for their 

* When the Caledonian forest was thick, its growth on the banks of rivers must 
have led to the formation of marshes. The plains on the sides of the Spey, which are 
still overflowed by the autumn floods, must have formerly been mere swamps. It is 
related of Michael Scot, Alexander Gordon, (Alastair Ruadh na Cairnich, probably 
Cairness,) and Mac Donald of Keppoch, that they had studied the black art in Italy, 
the end of the 15th century, and it is added that Mac Donald was the greatest profi- 
cient. He was accustomed to converse on the subjects with which his unhallowed 
learning had made him acquainted, with a female brownie called Glaslig, for whom it 
is believed he was more than a match. One evening he asked her the most remote 
circumstance she remembered, when she replied that she recollected the time when the 
great Spey, the nurse of salmon, was a green marsh for sheep and lambs to feed on. 

t Ata depth of five or six feet, a good soil for vegetation, formed into ridges, is often 
discovered. A plough was found in a deep bog, near Donegal ; and a hedge, and some 
wattles, were found standing at a depth of six feet. 

I Derrick. § W. Hemingford, i. 160. |I Fordun, xv. 31. 



304 MARL. 

flocks, it may in some measure account for the limited cultivation ir 
"the rough bounds," for the Gael were certainly not incompetent to 
raise grain, as far as the sterility of the mountains, and variable nature 
of the climate, would permit. Donald Munro, in 1549, describes lona. 
Mull, and other islands of the west, as " fertil, and fruitful of corne." 

The Highlanders have been charged with laziness and mismanage- 
ment of their farms, from a stubborn adherence to old and erroneous 
practices ; and their system of management is much censured by South- 
ern farmers. There is, doubtless, some truth in this stigma; but when 
we consider the disadvantages of climate and soil, their conduct as agri- 
culturists may be palliated. The husbandman can have little inducement 
to lay much of his land under culture, with a chance of his hopes being 
blasted, and his labor lost, by a rigorous season. If a severe frost should 
kill the seed before it has arisen; if a wet summer should prevent its 
ripening, or an early winter should destroy the crop, the loss will be 
easier borne the less it is. The farmer therefore risks but a limited 
quantity, sowing little more than he expects to want for use. If indo- 
lence exist, it is surely most excusable where there is no motive for ex- 
ertion; and if the Highlanders mismanage their farms, few others would 
be found willing to undertake to make so much of them. It is believed 
by those best able to form a correct opinion, that it would be impossible 
to find any other people to inhabit the bleak mountains now possessed 
by the Scotish Gael.* They may have old-fashioned notions, ahd awk- 
ward implements, but it is not always the case that novelties are improve- 
ments, or that the present generation are in all things wiser than their 
fathers. Birt acknowledged that "their methods were too well suited 
to their own circumstances, and those of the country, to be easily amend- 
ed by those who undertook to deride them." 

Gaul, says Mela, abounds in wheat and hay, and the lands of the 
Germanni, we otherwise know, were excellent for bearing grain. These 
nations well understood the art of fertilizing the earth, and it is an une- 
quivocal proof of the ability of the Celtic farmers, and of their attention 
to agriculture, that they discovered the use of margam, or marl,^ which 
they imparted to the Greeks and Romans. J The Haedui and Pictones 
of the continent made considerable use of lime to improve their grounds,^ 
but margam was in universal esteem. The obvious advantages of its 
application created an anxiety to discover new sorts, yet, according to 
Pliny, the various kinds were resolvable into two, as had been the case 
from the first, namely, the white fat marl, and the heavy, reddish color- 
ed rough sort, which was called capimarga, or accaunamarga. Both 
kinds would retain their strength in the ground for fifty years. || 

The Britons possessed a superior knowledge of the various marls and 
their properties. Their chalky sort was the best, which retained its 

* Rose of Aitnach, Agricultural View of Sutherland. 

t Marg, margu, marrow. Whitaker. t Plinji xvii. 6. 

§ Pliny, xvii. 8. |1 Ibid. 7. 



MANURE. 306 

strength for eighty years, so that no man was ever known to marl his 
ground twice during his life.* That which the Greeks called Glischro- 
margen, resembling Fuller's earth, was used for grass land, and kept 
its vigor thirty years: the sort called Columbine, the Gauls termed Egle- 
copalam. The use of marl appears to have been forgotten for a long 
time in the south of Britain: one of the Lords Berkeley is said to have 
been the first who revived it."]" 

The people beyond the Po preferred ashes to other manure, raising 
fires for the purpose of producing it; but it was not used for all crops, 
and was never mixed with any thing else. J The Ubians, a German 
nation, dug their lands three feet deep, a mode practised by no other 
people, and not equal to the application of marl, for the ground required 
to be broken up again in ten years. § 

Limestone is much used, but sea weed is the common manure in the 
isles and along the coast of the Highlands. The very objectionable mode 
of digging up the surface soil of the upper grounds, to mix with animal 
dung as a manure for the valleys, is visible in many places. The High- 
landers convert their houses into good manure. As they are chiefly 
formed of turf, or foid, such frail tenements are only inhabited for a 
short number of years, and, when they are taken down, the materials, 
impregnated wuh smoke and soot, become a very useful compost. The 
method by which the inhabitants of St. Kilda prepare their annual man- 
ure, is singular, and apparently confined to that remote island. It is 
composed of the ashes of their fires, the dung of their cattle, &c. which 
accumulate on the floors of their houses during their long and dreary 
winter. 

The ancient method of conveying manure to the ground, general 
throughout Scotland, but now confined to the Highlands, was simple 
and expeditious. Two semi-circular creels, or baskets, one and a half 
or two feet long, formed of strong wattle work, were suspended on each 
side of the horse, by means of ropes made of the pliant twigs of the 
birch or willow, and afiixed to the clubbar, or saddle, which rests on the 
fleat, or summac, a sort of mat composed in general of straw and rushes 
interwoven. The bottom of the creels are attached to the side nearest 
the horse by twig hinges, so that it can be opened and closed, being 
fastened when full, by means of sticks which are slipped into nooses at 
either end of the basket. When the contents are to be discharged, the 
sticks of both baskets are simultaneously withdrawn, and the manure 
falls to the ground, but to do this properly requires peculiar address, 
for, should one side be discharged before the other, the apparatus is in- 
stantly overturned, to the great merriment of the other laborers. This 
method, apparently so awkward, is yet efficient, and is performed with 
celerity. Six loads of the Highland ponies are equal to a cart load, and 
the manure is more equally spread, and in much less time, than by carting 

* Pliny, xvii. 7. t Berkeley MS. 

t Pliny, xvii. 9 § Ibid. 8 

39 



306 SYSTEMS OF AGRICULTURE. 

The particular systems of agriculture, pursued by the ancient Celts 
and modern Gael, are not very remarkable. They varied a little, ac- 
cording to the nature of the ground and other circumstances, the art 
being pursued with simplicity, but with considerable success. The Ubi- 
ans, we have seen, dug their land three feet deep, which was more than 
could be done by the plough; but we do not know how they disposed of 
the stones, where numerous, in clearing their fields. They may have 
accumulated them in certain places, as was the practice in Scotland, 
where the Draonaich collected them in numerous small heaps, leaving 
the intermediate spaces clear for cultivation. This is observable around 
all the sites of their dwellings, and differs from the later practice, which 
appears to have been occasioned by the operation of ploughing, the stones 
being thrown on each side, forming alternate ridges, with the clear land, 
and denominated rigs and baulks. The Welsh, Cambrensis informs us, 
used not to till during the year round, as in other places, but in March and 
April, once for oats, and in summer twice. For wheat, they only dug 
up the land once in winter. The Irish were formerly censured for their 
ill management, in having hay and corn harvest at the same time.* The 
unfavorable climate and sterility of the land are heavy disadvantages to 
the Highland agriculturist. From the mountainous nature of the count- 
ry, he is obliged, in many parts, carefully to turn all the earth into one 
part, forming thereby an artificial bed, while the hollow on each side 
serves to carry off the water, which otherwise would wash down the 
scanty soil. The ridges are called in the Low country lazy beds, a 
name not very applicable, considering the labor necessary to raise and 
preserve them on the acclivity of steep hills. In such situations, no 
other plan of cultivation could possibly be adopted; the name, however, 
is often appropriate, when such beds are formed where the uniform depth 
of soil obviates any necessity for them. These spots of cultivation, 
scattered over a rugged hill, have a singular appearance. 

The Highlander might certainly improve his methods of cultivation, 
for in many things he is deficient. The ground cannot be very clean 
when it is tilled in the spring only, nor can it be very productive when 
not subjected to proper rotation of crops; but in objecting to the Celtic 
practices, it is right to bear in mind that in parts of the island, where 
natural obstacles did not check improvement, agriculture remained long 
in a state of great rudeness. Even in England, the farmers continued 
extremely ignorant, and, consequently, unsuccessful. In the reigns of 
Edward I. and II. they set beans by hand, and leazed the seed wheat 
from the ear itself, and in the time of Richard, they had not adopted the 
simple and efficient mode of improving pasture by penning the sheep 
progressively over the field, but gave themselves the trouble of carrying 
the dung in small quantitiea from a distant fold. 

The harvest of the ancient Britons was by no means late. Caesar, 

* Riche. 



SUPERSTITIONS.— AGRICULTURAL IMPLEMENTS. 307 

according to the calculation of Halley, arrived on the 26th of August, 
and the crop was almost all cut down, only one field, that had been later 
than usual, being observed standing. In the Highlands, where the 
climate is so disadvantageous, it seems unaccountable that the inhabi- 
tants should be partial to late sowing; they indeed give a reason, which 
may be allowed its weight, without however proving the system of 
management to be good: if the seed was put earlier in the ground, thQ 
Highland farmer alleges it would be smothered with weeds. 

That the Highlanders retain several old and ridiculous superstitions 
respecting their agricultural operations, cannot be matter of surprise, 
when their more refined neighbors in the Low country, and the inhab- 
itants of England, have not relinquished equally absurd and unmeaning 
observances. In the most flourishing ages of Greece and Rome, the 
farmers were incredibly superstitious regarding the seasons, the influence 
of planets, the winds. Sec. 

The Highlanders think the moon ripens their corn as much as the sun 
does. This, like most popular beliefs, is founded on experience, although 
the effect is erroneously deduced. In clear and settled weather, when 
the moon is unclouded by night, as the sun is by day, the crop must 
obviously ripen well. A superstition, lately very prevalent, seems to 
have originated in the times of paganism. It was the custom throughout 
Scotland to leave a portion of land untilled, which was called, " the 
good man's croft," or " the old man's fold," a practice which the Elders 
of the Kirk, in 1594, exerted their utmost influence to abolish, * without 
effect. This hallowed spot is believed to have been the place where the 
Druids invoked the divine blessing on the corn and cattle of the owner,t 
or where he himself sacrificed for an abundant crop. 

In noticing the various implements used by the Celtic agriculturist, it 
will be seen that he possessed many ingenious articles that are gener- 
ally supposed the invention of later ages. The Plough was used by the 
Gauls in their agricultural operations, and was called Planarat, Plum- 
arat, or more probably, as commentators have observed, Pflugradt.J 
The Celtic plough was very ingeniously constructed, for it was provided 
with two small wheels, and the shares were large and broad, turning up 
large turfs and casting a good furrow. § The practice was to make but 
two or three bouts and as many ridges, and one yoke of oxen were able 
to prepare forty acres of good land.§ This seems to resemble the 
alternate ridges, which the old Scots formed, by their manner of plough- 
ing, which received the descriptive appellation or rigs and baulks. The 
plough was very early in use among the Britons, if we could trust the 
relation of Geoffry of Monmouth, who says, Dunwallo, a prince who 
flourished 500 years before Christ, was a great encourager of agriculture, 
which he seems to have considered as an occupation connected with 
religion. A law assigned to him, enjoins the ploughs of husbandmen, 

* Arnott's History of Edinburgh. t Rev. Mr. Johnstone, of Monlquhiter. 

t Pliny, xviii. 18. ed. Lugd. 1668. § Ibid. 



308 AGRICULTURAL IMPLEMENTS. 

and the temples of the gods to be sanctuaries. Eltud, or Iltutus, im- 
proved agriculture, and taught the art of ploughing, until which time the 
land was dug with the spade and pickaxe in the Irish manner,* and no 
man was allowed to use a plough who could not make one. The ropes, 
or harness, were to be made of twisted willows; and it was not unusual 
for six or eight individuals to associate for the purpose of supplying 
themselves with this implement, and for their regulation many curious 
laws were enacted. "f The old Irish plough was drawn by five or six 
horses yoked abreast, and five men were required to conduct the opera- 
tion.! In the beginning of the seventeenth century, ten shillings annually 
were exacted for permitting the use of their "short ploughs," which 
were drawn by the horse's rump, a practice not altogether unknown 
among the Highlanders, among whom it was common to break a colt by 
tying a harrow to his tail. The Irish were so fond of this barbarous 
custom, that they petitioned the Deputy to be allowed to continue it 
without being taxed; but they were answered that the law was not so 
severe as in 1606, when a garron was the penalty for the first year's use 
of one plough in that manner, and for the second year two; and as the 
practice occasioned the loss of so many horses, it was necessary to 
abolish it.§ The Irish are described by Spenser as " great plowers, and 
small spenders of come." 

In many places of Gaelic Scotland, a small plough, called a ristle, is 
used, and employed to precede the larger sort. Its chief peculiarity is 
the culter, shaped like a sickle, to cut along the turf In these parts 
deep ploughing is avoided, on account of the high winds to which they 
are subject, and which sometimes blow both seed and soil away. 

The old Thraple plough is now seldom to be seen, except in the 
remote Highlands, or in the Orkneys. In Argyleshire, it continued to 
be used on some farms about twenty years ago, but was fast giving way 
to the more improved manufacture. In some places it was called the 
Rotheram plough, and was rude and simple in its construction, and 
awkward in its management. It was entirely composed of wood, with 
the exception of the culter and sock, and had but one stilt. It was 
drawn by four garrons or oxen, yoked abreast to a cross bar; which was 
fastened to the beam by thongs of raw hide or ropes of hair; and he who 
managed the stilt, held it close and firm to his right thigh, to protect 
which he had a sheep or other animal's skin wrapped around it. To keep 
the plough sufficiently deep in the earth, a person was required to press 
it down, while another performed the office of driver by placing himself 
between the two central animals, where he walked backwards, |1 protect- 
ing himself from falling by placing both arms over their necks. The 
mould-board was ribbed or furrowed, in order to break the land, and old 
people declare that the soil yielded better crops after being ploughed in 

* Triad, 56. t Leges Wallicse. t Riche. 

§ Des. cur. Hib. Ulster paid £870 of this tax. 

II Gir. Camb. describes the Welsh ploughman, likewise, as walking backwards. 



CASCROM.— CASDIREACH 309 

this manner than it does by the modern practice. The supposition is, 
that by the old method the soil was more equally broken up. 

That excellent instrument the cascrom, literally crooked foot, a kind 
of foot plough, which the Highlanders can manage with great dexterity, 
and which is too little known,* is still used in mountainous districts, and, 
from its excellent adaptation to the culture of rugged and steep hills, where 
a plough cannot be used, is not likely ever to be superseded by any im- 
provement. With the same labor it will perform nearly double the work 
of a spade. It consists of a strong piece of wood, five to seven feet in 
length, bent between one and two feet from the lower end, which is shod 
with iron fixed to the wood by means of a socket. The iron part is five 
or six inches long, and about five inches broad. At the angle, a piece 
of wood projects about eight inches from the right side, and on this the 
foot is placed, by which the instrument is forced diagonally into the ground 
and pushed along, as may be seen from the vignette. By a jerk from 
the shaft, which acts as a powerful lever, eight or ten inches in breadth 
of the soil is raised from a depth of eight to twelve inches, according to 
circumstances, and dexterously thrown to the left side. Eight, ten, or 
a dozen of men are sometimes employed working with the cascrom. 
They arrange themselves in a line at the bottom of the hill, with their 
backs to the acclivity, and with surprising rapidity turn over the rough 
and scanty soil, forming, in their operations, an extended cut or trench, 
like a plough-furrow. This is repeated as they gradually ascend the 
hill backwards, and the land so labored is very productive. One 
active man can turn more in a day with this instrument than four men 
with common spades. Munro describes Tarnsay and other islands, in 
1549, as " weil inhabit and manurit; bot all this fertill is delved with 
spaides, excepting sa meikell as ane horse-plough will teil, and zet they 
have maist abundance of beir and meikell of corne." 

The Casdireach, or spade with a straight handle, is also in consider- 
able use. The Manx have an implement similar to this, furnished with 
an iron spur for placing the foot upon; it is about four inches wide at 
the end, and well adapted for rough and stony ground. Serviceable 
spades are formed, in the North, of fir-wood shovels, imported from 
Norway in exchange for meal, and afterwards shod with iron. 

The spade used for casting or cutting turf for building or covering 
houses, &c. called also the divot, and the flaugter spade, is a sort of 
breast plough, ^used by a person who presses his body with all his strength 
against it, forcing it before him, and nicely cutting off the grassy or short 
heathy surface of the ground. The laborer protects his thighs by a 
sheep's skin, or several folds of plaid, hung like an apron before him, and 
will cut nearly 1000 turfs per day. It may be noticed that in the Low 
country, the Highlanders are esteemed the best laborers at trenching or 
other hard agricultural work. The Gaulish method was to sow immedi- 

* Sir. John Sinclair. 



310 MODE OF R'EAPING. 

ately after the plough, and cover the seed by means of harrows, aftei 
which the land required no more weeding. These harrows were fur- 
nished with iron teeth. In the Isle of Lewis there was formerly, if it 
does not still exist, a peculiar sort of harrow. It was small, and provided 
with wooden teeth in the first and second bars, to break the soil; 
ui the third was fastened heath to smooth it, and a man dragged it 
along by means of a strong hair rope across his breast. Iron teeth are 
seldom used in the Highlands, because they bury the seed too deep in 
the earth, which wooden ones, from their lightness, do not. 

While the Romans reaped their corn with a sickle, the Gauls, whose 
fields were remarkably large, went to work in a more expeditious manner, • 
and cut down their crops by means of a scythe, used by both hands, an 
implement for which we thus seem to be indebted to these people, who 
appear to have been more anxious to finish their labors as quickly as 
possible than desirous of executing their work nicely, for they did not 
cut close, but rather mowed down the tops.* They had also another 
ingenious method of cutting down their largest fields, which shows not a 
little perfection in the mechanical arts. A large machine, resembling a 
van, was constructed, in which the horse was yoked so as to push it 
before him. The sides were furnished with sharp teeth or knives, and 
this carriage being driven into the field, the ears of corn were cut off, 
and, at the same time, were thrown into the body of the car, which 
was made to receive them!| Giraldus says the Welsh reaped with 
an instrument like the blade of a knife, and a wooden handle at each 
end. In the Scillies, the corn is reaped with sickles, but it is all 
laid down regularly as it would be by a scythe. J The Britons were 
as regardless of the straw as the Gauls, reaping their corn by cutting 
off the ears only. 

The harvest work in the Highlands is performed in a very creditable 
manner. The women are the chief reapers, and, in the words of Mr. 
Marshall, who drew up the Agricultural Report of the central Highlands, 
they cut it "low, level, and clean, to a degree I have never before 
observed." Lint also, which is said to be a late introduction to the 
Highlands, is allowed to be a well-managed crop. It is carefully weed- 
ed by the women on their hands and knees. In so variable and 
unpropitious a climate as that of the north of Scotland, much care was 
required in guarding the crop from injury when growing, and after it 
was reaped. In Sutherland and Caithness, the Highlanders had observ- 
ed that if the hoar frost remained on the corn when the sunbeams of the 
morning first struck upon the crop, it became blighted; they were 
theiefore accustomed to go to their fields before the sun arose, and with 
a rope made of heath, held by a person at each end, and pulled along 
the top of the corn, the frost was shaken off. The usual method of 
piling the corn in shocks, consisting of twelve sheaves, prevails in the 

* Pliny, xviii. 28. t Pliny, c. 30. t Troutbeck. 



GRANARIES. 311 

Highlands, but in some of the Northern counties it was preserved in 
small round heaps resembling beehives, which were well thatched 
all round, and denominated bykes.* The sheaves are also, in many 
parts, set up singly. It is usual to have the upper parts of the gables of 
barns formed of wattle work, so constructed as to throw off the rain and 
admit a thorough draft of air, a most judicious plan in a climate so wet. 
It would have been much to the advantage of the husbandmen of former 
years, in more favored parts of the country, to have had similar buildings, 
for want of which they were obliged to keep the corn on the ground as long 
as they possibly could. In 1358, an inundation in Lothian swept away 
the sheaves that were laid out to dry at Christmas eve! f It is to dry 
hay and corn that the spacious and elegant barns of the Duke of Argyle 
were erected in Glenshira. 

The Britons laid up the corn in the ear, and preserved it in subterra- 
neous caves or granaries, J a practice also of the Celtiberians. They 
deposited it in pits from which the damp and air was carefully excluded, 
and in these receptacles wheat so preserved remained fresh and good for 
fifty years, and millet for even more than 100.§ The Thracians stored 
up their grain in similar vaults, and in the ear also, which Pliny recom- 
mends as the best method of preserving it. 

Throughout Scotland, but especially in Highland districts, are found 
subterraneous buildings of rude but substantial formation. These are 
the eird or earth-houses before noticed, built of loose stones, and cover- 
ed with large flags, which may have often served as the hiding-places 
of the natives, but were, in most cases, there is every reason to believe, 
the places where the grain of the inhabitants was deposited for security. 
The remarkable number of earth-houses at Kildrummy has been refer- 
red to. All these subterraneous apartments are accompanied by a sort 
of square inclosure or space, level, and somewhat lower than the sur- 
rounding ground, and by noticing these places, one is often able to dis- 
cover the caves; which, from examination, were evidently the storehouses 
of the ancient inhabitants. Many of the inclosures have been cleared 
out, and numbers of hand mill-stones have been invariably found. That 
these recesses were designed chiefly for the deposition of grain, we 
may safely conclude from the known practice of the Celtic tribes, 
who were accustomed to take from their stores a requisite quantity of 
grain daily, spending their time in the woods hunting, or in warfare. 
The muirs of Achindoer and Kildrummie were eligible positions for the 
granaries of surrounding tribes, being warm and champaign, inclosed by 
lofty ridges of hill, and, as it were, just within the mountains. They 
were not less favorably situated for cultivation; and to this day "Kil- 
drummie oats" are esteemed before others in the Northern counties. To 
these plains the natives resorted for their daily supplies of corn, which 
they always ground for immediate use. 

* Pen. i. 202. t Fordun. xv. 21. 

+ Diod. V. § Varro. 



312 THRASHING.— WINNOWING. 

Those remarkable hollows on the borders of Wilt and Somerset shires 
called Pen pits, are most singular remains of former ages. A space 
comprising more than 700 acres has been excavated into pits, in shape 
like an inverted cone; and various conjectures have been formed as to 
the purpose for which so numerous and close an assemblao-e was intend- 
ed. As hand mill-stones have been found, I believe, in all that have 
been examined, and as the situation is so dry that no water has ever 
been known to stagnate in them, it appears probable that Pen pits were 
the store-houses of the aboriginal tribes who Hved in that part of the 
country, and who in this place had their common granaries, whence they 
supplied themselves as occasion might require. 

The most early method of separating the grain from the straw was by 
means of cattle, who, by repeatedly treading, effected the object. This 
was the mode in practice among the Jews in most ancient times, and the 
Romans either trampled their corn in the same manner, or pressed it 
with the tribula, a sort of dray made of rough board. The Gauls and 
Britons, however, used a Flail,* which performed the work much better, 
and in much less time. This implement was introduced in Italy about 
fifty years before Christ, but the Roman husbandmen, notwithstandino- 
the encouragement given to agriculture, were inferior to the Gauls, for 
they continued to use their oxen in treading out their grain, to whose 
assistance a roller, or heavy stone was added, | being the only improve- 
ment made on the old plan, and the awkward practice is retained to the 
present day. J 

The inhabitants of Scotland continue to use the flail, where thrashing 
mills have not been erected, and where mills or farm houses are not 
provided with winnowing machines, the chaff" is separated from the grain 
by sifting it in the open air, when the weather permits, or between the 
opposite doors of a barn, the draft of air carrying aside the lighter parti- 
cles. Some of these buildings are constructed of an angular form, in 
order to catch the wind blowing from any point. The VVaight, guil, an 
implement for winnowing, is a sheep-skin, the wool being removed, of 
about one foot and a half in diameter, stretched on a hoop, like that on a 
drum head. In these the corn is exposed to the wind, and the chaff" 
blown away, a light work, which the Highlanders commit to the women. 
The most obvious, and consequently the first practised, method of 
reducing grain to flour, for the composition of bread, is by simple pound- 
ing. The Gauls had early arrived at the art of grinding their corn by 
a hand mill, which was also used by the Britons before they were visited 
by the Romans. This people, otherwise so greatly advanced in civ- 
ilisation and refinement, had not altogether discontinued the practice 
of bruising and pounding their grain, even in the time of Vespasian.^ 
The hand mill is of great antiquity, as appears from many passages in 
the Scriptures. Pausanias ascribes its invention to Myleta, the son of 

* Whitaker. t Colum. ii. 22. 

t Blunt's Vestiges of Ancient Manners, p. 209. ^ Pliny. 



GRADDANING.— CORN MILL.— THIRLAGE, 818 

Leiex. That of the British tribes was called Quern, and in Scotland, 
where its use is still by no means rare, it retains the same name.* Grind- 
ing by the hand stone appears very awkward to those who are accustomed 
to good machinery, for it takes two women four hours to grind a bushel, 
and it is to this work which Barnaby Riche alludes, when he says that 
the women in the North of Ireland ground their corn " unhandsomely." 
The manner of preparing the grain for the quern was called Graddaning, 
a term which comes from grad, quick; but Jamieson derives it from the 
Norse word gratti, descriptive of the grit stone, of which the quern was' 
made, whence are the Danish gryte, to grind; the English grits, German 
grout, Swedish groet, and Scots grots and crowdy. The process was 
thus conducted. A woman sitting down takes a handful of corn, which 
she holds by the stalks in her left hand. She then sets fire to the ears, and 
being provided with a stick in her right hand, she dexterously beats off 
the grain at the very instant when the husk is quite burnt, neither allow- 
ing the grain to be injured, nor striking before it is ready to fall. This 
practice is chiefly confined to the Western Islands and most remote 
districts of the main land. The usual method, in Badenoch and else- 
where, is this: the corn is switched out of the ear with a stick, fanned or 
separated from the chaff", and put in a Scots pot stuck in the fire, 
while a person keeps turning it with a wooden spatula, called speilag, in 
the same manner as coffee is roasted in some places. This manner of 
preparation is called araradh, often improperly written Eirerich. " I 
have seen," says a gentleman from Laggai\, " the corn cut, dried 
ground, baked, and eaten in less than two hours." A laborer returning 
from his day's work carried home as much corn in the sheaf as he re- 
quired for his supper and next day's provision. 

The water mill is believed to be an invention of the Romans, and 
communicated by them to the Britons; we, however, read that Coel, 
grandson of Caradoc ap Bran, first made " a mill, wheel with wheel." 
The Gael of Albion were earlier acquainted with the nature of mill ma- 
chinery than those of Erin, for about the year 220 Cormac Mac Art, 
King of Ireland, sent notice to carpenters from Albin to make for him a 
mill. I The horizontal mill, in Shetland called a tirl, and used in some 
parts of the Highlands, is a very simple piece of machinery. 

There was usually a mill on each barony, and the Laird, to secure 
the multure or miller's fee, was solicitous to break the querns. The 
miller on every Lairdship had usually a croft for his support, besides the 
legal multures and sequels, i. e. the perquisites of the miller and his man. 
In Scots' law, thirlage is the servitude by which lands are astricted to a 
particular mill, being bound to have their corn ground there on certain 
terms. The district or lands thus bound are termed the sucken, and the 
payments are the multure or quantity of grain or meal exacted by the 
heritor or his tacksman, and the sequels or those quantities given to the 
servants under the names of knaveship, bannock, and lock, or gowpen. 

* The quern is still used in the Scillies t Keating. 

40 



314 MODES OF CARRIAGE. 

In the Highlands the thirle is called siucam, and the multures are term 
ed cis. The tenant paid a certain measure out of every boll to the chief, 
half that measure to the miller, and a quarter to the gille-mullin, or 
miller's man. 

The Gauls refined or sifted the flour by sieves of horse hair, which 
were their own invention, and the Celtiberians improved on the discove- 
ry, by making two sorts, both formed of fine linen.* 

The British tribes were sufficiently skilful to construct cars of superior 
workmanship for war, and had evidently machines for the purposes of 
traffic, but it does not appear how far they made use of those conveyan- 
ces in their agricultural operations. In Caledonia, the mountainous 
nature of the cou itry almost precluded the use of wheel carriages. All 
work which couM not be performed by manual labor was executed by 
horses, for which the farmer was obliged to keep considerably more than 
appeared to Lowland farmers compatible with good management. For 
this they are still condemned, but it is an overstocking which is unavoida- 
ble. In 1778, on a Highland farm, where one hundred and ten bolls of 
oats, and thirty-six of bear, were sown, there was not a wheel carriage 
of any description. "j* A wagon, or vehicle where the thill horse does not 
bear the weight, is well adapted for the Highlands, where it seems 
unknown. The old cart, the use of which is not yet entirely discontinued, 
was formed wholly of wood. The wheels were of ash or other hard wood, 
two feet and a half in diameter, and three inches in thickness, and were 
fixed to the axle, which njoved with them, and the traces were fastened 
to a hoop of birch wood around the axle. Between the trams or thills a 
conical basket was placed, into which the fuel or manure was put, and, 
to unload the carriage, the driver had a method of oversetting and 
replacing it with great facility. The Irish car appears to be similar to 
this machine. In the Isle of Man, a sort of sledges are used, composed 
of two shafts, widening towards the end, but connected by five or six 
cross bars, and dragged along the ground. Oxen, it has been stated by 
a respectable author, are not worked in any part of the Highlands. The 
Welsh, by their ancient laws, were prohibited from using any other animal 
for the plough. A usual mode of conveyance is by the crubban, a trian- 
gular machine formed of rods, and suspended across the horse's back on 
each side. It is well adapted for carrying peats, corn in sacks, hay, &c. 
A sort of stout creels, of a similar construction, are called Rechailich, 
and a tradition exists that the stones of which the bridge of Dee, near 
Aberdeen, was built, about 1522, were conveyed by these means. A 
sort of saddle, called a Clubbar, formed of wood, has a deep notch in 
the top, for the purpose of holding a rope of straw, rushes, or heath, to 
which are fastened, on each side the horse, a basket or bag, made of 
straw, rushes, or floss, a sort of reed, and woven like a mat. They 
are of an oval shape, about three feet wide at bottom, and two and a 
half at top, being about one foot eight inches deep, and capable of 
" Pliny, xviii. 11. t Trans, of Highland Soc. i. 132. 



STATE OF HIGHLAND TENANTRY. 315 

•"ontaining half a boll of oats. They are called cazzies, or ceises, and 
are furnished with a handle or fettle at each end, by whichHhey can be 
carried, and have two straw or other ropes to tie the mouth, when full. 
These simple and convenient articles are generally made during the 
winter nights; they will last two years, and their value in the Northern 
counties is perhaps fourpence or sixpence; but in Badenoch, where they 
were chiefly employed in carrying cheese and butter from the sheelings, 
they cost more. Highland garrons with these will travel through the 
most rugged paths, each fastened to the tail of the other, however many 
there may be, attended by one driver, and, when unloaded, the halter 
of the foremost is tied to the tail of the last, so that it is impossible for 
*hem to stray, as they can only move in a circle. This mode of fasten- 
ing by the tail is thought an excellent method of breaking horses. 

To conclude this chapter, it may be observed, that the state of the 
old Highland tenantry was far from being slavish or uncomfortable. 
Strangers seldom took farms, or indeed had the opportunity, for few were 
ever removed from their ancient possessions, to which they thought they 
had a sort of prescriptive right. The farm tenants of modern times have 
generally a cow on the common pasture, and one, or one and a half 
acres of land for vegetables, with the privilege of cutting grass on the 
bogs, for which they pay a rent of five or six pounds. The freedom of a 
pastoral and agricultural life is highly favorable to a military spirit, and it 
did not escape the observation of the ancients, that their best troops were 
raised in the country. The children born of husbandmen, says Cato, 
are the most valiant and hardy soldiers, and the most intrepid.* The 
late war e ced, in the case of the Highlanders, the truth of his remark 




Pliny, xviii. 5. 



CHAPTER IX. 

OF THE FOOD OF THE CELTS,— THEIR COOKERY, LIQUORS, MED 
ICINAL KNOWLEDGE, HEALTH, AND LONGEVITY. 

There was no scarcity of food amongst the Celtas, when they came 
under the observation of the more polished nations of .Europe, and their 
good hving must have materially assisted in producing the strong limbs 
and large stature for which they were so remarkable. The vegetable 
kingdom, unimproved by horticultural skill, and the wild herds of the 
forest, afford the means of subsistence to mankind in the first stage of 
civilisation; but the nations of the west were not confined to these pre- 
carious supplies, having long before the commencement of our era, as 
may already appear, pastured numerous flocks of cattle, and cultivated, 
with success, extensive fields of corn. To this general observation the 
state of some of the remote and barbarous tribes will indeed be an ex- 
ception. Strangers to the advantages of climate and intercourse with 
more refined nations, they continued in primitive rudeness, unafl^ected 
by commerce, and contented with their savage enjoyments; but the 
Gauls were far removed from that state in which human beings are under 
the necessity of appropriating the coarse fruits of the forest trees, or the 
wild herbs and roots of the field, for their chief subsistence. They were, 
as has been shown, supplied with abundance of venison from their well- 
stocked forests, and other meat from their tame herds, and the plenty 
which filled the land was evinced by their well-supplied tables and con- 
tinued feasting, which were the theme of even Roman commendation 
The Aquitani were famed for their sumptuous and frequent entertain- 
ments,* and the Celtiberi were noted for being particularly nice and 
curious in their diet."]" 

Before manners have been changed by civilisation, or mankind has 
emerged from a state of nature, the savage beings subsist on the coarse 
and undressed articles of food which they may be able to procure. 
The roots of the field, and the produce of the forest trees, supply a 

* Marcellinus. i Pliny. 



INDIFFERENCE TO FOOD. 317 

ready, though precarious, means of sustenance, and, consistent with the 
plan hitherto pursued, it will be inquired how far the ancient Celts 
depended on the wild productions of nature, or had supplied themselves 
with vegetables and fruit, improved by horticultural industry. 

The Germans, according to Tacitus and Appian, Uved chiefly on raw 
herbs and wild fruit, and some of the Britons, also, were accustomed to 
satisfy the cravings of hunger with the same unsavory aliment ; but this 
must have been in cases of necessity, and among the most barbarous 
of the tribes, for they certainly had, in general, ample supplies of other 
food. It is, besides, found that nations will continue the use of the hard 
fare which satisfied their fathers, when it is in their power to procure 
better provisions, as the Arcadians, who continued to eat acorns to the 
time that the Lacedemonians warred with them ;* and the Celtiberi, 
who used, throughout all the country, to serve up roasted mast as a 
second course, j" notwithstanding they had all sorts of flesh in plenty, 
and were not obliged to use this plain diet. J The Celts, although, as 
shall be shown, they by no means disregarded good living, seem to have 
considered temperance a virtue, being moderate, as Diodorus and 
Tacitus express themselves, in eating, banishing hunger by plain fare 
without curious dressing. This race have ever been noted for their 
contempt of delicacies, or aversion to epicurianism, and their ability to 
bear the privations of hunger and fatigue. It has been found that the 
Highlanders are, when surrounded with plenty, more sparing in their 
diet than others ; and it is a fact, that they will continue a whole day 
at laborious field work, contenting themselves with only two meals of 
water brose, or a simple mixture of oatmeal and water. They will eat, 
says Mrs. Grant, with a keen appetite and sufficient discrimination ; but 
were they to stop in any pursuit because it was meal time, growl over a 
bad dinner, or exult over a good one, the manly dignity of their charac- 
ter would be considered as fallen forever. I have seen a piper from 
"the head of the Highlands," at a sumptuous dinner on St. Andrew's 
day, select, from the various choice dishes around him, plain boiled 
sheep's trotters in preference to any thing else! 

The ancient Celts held corpulence in so much abhorrence, that the 
young men had a girdle to determine their size, and if they were found 
to exceed its dimensions, they were subjected to a fine. A fat paunch 
has always been reckoned a great misfortune in the Highlands. 

Health may be preserved with a much less quantity of food than is 
generally supposed ; for repletion is more inimical to the system than a 
scanty meal. Martin justly observed, that if among the Highlanders 
there were no corpulent persons, none bore the appearance of starvation. 
The remark is still applicable ; and although, from their hard living and 
frequent exposure to the severity of the weather, the appearance of old 
age is seen at a more early period of life than is the case with laborers 
in more favored climes, yet they live equally long, if not longer, enjoy 

* Pausanias, vii. i. t Pliny, xvi. t Diodorus. 



818 VEGETABLES. 

as good health, and perform as much work, and often of a great dea. 
harder nature.* 

The Caledonians, we learn from Dio, were obliged, when in the woods, 
to live on the fruits of the trees, and even on the leaves and roots of 
wild herbs; but game, the chief subsistence of an uncivilized people, 
formed their principal food, to which the vegetable kingdom afforded an 
estimable accession. In the woods and valleys were found the natural 
productions, which diversified the simple meals of the Celtic nations, and 
the herbs and esculents which nature had spread before them, they were 
long satisfied to gather from the open fields, before they thought of culti- 
vating them around their dwellings. The Britons, in distant ages, paid 
some attention to this useful pursuit, yet many, in Strabo's tirae,| were 
totally ignorant of horticulture. The vegetable garden of the ancient 
Celt, we may believe, was but scantily stored ; the natural meadows in 
the vicinity of his humble dwelling, and the mountain wilds, afforded 
him a sufficient and not uninviting supply. In summer, the Gael could 
vary his repasts by many sweet and wholesome productions of his native 
land; he could gather subhansj in the glen and avrons§ on the height; in 
the woods he could find various fruits and nutricious herbs — on the muirs 
he could pick the delicious blackberry, the aromatic aitnach, the lus- 
cious blaeberry, and many others. 

A people occupied in pasturage could not fail to become acquainted 
with the value of different vegetables, either as human food, or suste- 
nance for their herds. Turnips were served up at table in Gaul, and 
were given to the cattle in winter, a part of rural economy which we 
thus see is far from being an improvement of modern times. |1 A sort of 
wild carrot was known in almost every country. The kind called Dau- 
cus grew spontaneously in the woods of Gaul and Britain, and was 
known in Italy as the Gallic. Leeks, of which the Welsh are reputed 
to be so fond, were plentiful in the Principality in the fifth century. The 
old Irish made great use of watercresses, sorrel, and scurvy grass; and 
even shamrock is said to have been eaten by them. The poor of that 
country were oflen obliged to make such articles a chief part of their 
food. In 1673, they are represented as " feeding much on watercresses, 
parsneps, potatoes, and sea weed," and Sir William Petty describes 
them as using potatoes from August to May, a pennyworth of cakes 
serving an individual a week; to which, eggs and rancid butter were 
added by some; others, it is said, used a preparation of curdled milk and 
horse's blood, and those who lived near the sea gathered mussels, cock- 
les, and oysters, but flesh meat was seldom seen among the lower order. 

*The alleged abstinence of some ancient nations is almost incredible. Pliny tells us 
the Sauromatae took but one meal in three days ! Lib. vii. 2. 
t Lib. iv. p. 200. 

t Strawberries, used in the Low Countries of Mar and Banff for raspberries. 
§ Otherwise oighreag, the cloudberry, rubus chamBemorus. 
11 Columella, ii. 10, p. 198, edit. 1595 IT Dio. 



VEGETABLES.— DAIRY 311) 

The ancient Gael had a certain vegetable, of which, about the size of 
a bean enabled them to resist, for some time, the effects of a want of either 
meat or drink. The Highlanders, at this day, occasionally use an article 
that was in much esteem with their ancestors, and which, if not the above, 
seems to possess similar qualities. The root braonan, which grows 
abundantly in the country, is delicious, and very nutritious when boiled. 
It is dug from November to April, and, when dried and ground, it 
makes good bread. Many, also, chew it like tobacco, and allege that it 
allays the sensation of hunger. Pennant confounds this with the 
cor-mheille, or blue button, the root of which is only used as a tonic. 
The Scythians, according to Pliny, who, it must be confessed, was 
credulous, had two herbs which can hardly be classed among those used 
for food, although they appear to have answered as most valuable sub- 
stitutes. One received its name from the people among whom it was 
found, or who discovered its properties, being called Scythica; the other 
was called Hyppici, and by keeping either in the mouth, the want of 
meat or drink was not felt for a considerable time.* A knowledge of 
these excellent articles would be of inestimable value to hungry wights 
in the civilized society of the present day. 

Shunis, or Scots' parsley, is much valued by the Highlanders, who 
use it both as food and medicine. The vegetables which they usually 
cultivated were cabbages, onions, carrots, beans, and peas. The kale 
yard, or garden for the vegetable. Cole, was formerly an important 
adjunct to a cottage in the Lowlands, but since the introduction of 
potatoes it is in less esteem. The Highlanders, about one hundred 
years ago, had in general an aversion to the productions of the kitchen 
garden. The Grants appear to have been the first among the clans who 
cultivated the above-noticed vegetable, and they are, at this day, often 
alluded to as "the soft kale-eating Grants." The old Highlanders 
were chiefly carnivorous and lactophagious, and even yet they are indif- 
ferent to the use of vegetables. The kale and cabbage which they 
require for planting, are purchased in the Low Country. Kale seems 
derived from the Latin, Caulis, a stalk or stem, but the original plant 
does not appear to be well-known. 

The Celtse paid great attention to the management of the dairy, the 
produce of which is necessarily a principal part of the subsistence of a 
pastoral people, and they were able to make butter, the nature of which 
was unknown to the Romans. f Pliny describes the churn as " longa 
vasa angusto foramine," but although a handle is not mentioned, the 
cream is said to have been shaken. J The name buyd ur, chief or 
excellent food, is believed to have arisen from its being confined to the 
use of the chiefs. § The better sort, who were thus distinguished from 
the poor, had so much that they sold of it,|| and it is probable that the 



■ Pliny, XXV. 8. t Pliny, xxvii. t Ibid. 

\ Whitaker. 1| Dalechamp. Comment, on Pliny, xxviii. 9. 



320 BUTTER.— CHEESE. 

nobles received butter of their followers as a perquisite. In Gaelic it 
IS called Im. 

The Irish are described as very " unmannerly in making their butter," 
and the process is certainly not likely to have been inviting when they 
thought it extremely unlucky ever to wash their milk vessels,* and by 
a practice of hiding it in the bogs it was usually rancid. It would be 
unfair, however, to let it appear that the Irish alone were addicted to 
this filthy and superstitious practice, for in some parts of Scotland, I 
have been informed, the same prejudice exists, or did exist, which is 
humorously noticed in the " Cottagers of Glenburnie," — " Do you not 
clean the churn before you put in the cream .'"' asked Mrs. Mason 
" Na, na," returned Mrs. Mac Clarty, "that wadna be canny ye ken. 
Nsebody hereabouts wad clean their kirn for ony consideration. 1 
never heard o sic a thing in a my life." In some parts of the High- 
lands the gudewife takes the following method to procure fresh butter 
in winter. Salt butter being mixed with sweet milk, in the proportion 
of one pound to the chopin, or quart, of milk, is put through the same 
process as cream undergoes in a small churn: the butter, consequently, 
becomes sweet, and the milk turns salt. This is sometimes practised 
by the Irish also. 

The Gauls made excellent cheeses : they were highly aromatic, and 
Pliny extols them as medicinal. The best of those at Rome were pro- 
cured from Nismes, and two villages in the Gevaudan. They were 
excellent for present use, but were not made to be kept long. Pliny 
expresses his surprise that some nations, who thickened their milk into 
a pleasant curd and rich butter, should not make cheese ; | an igno- 
rance with which some of the Britons are charged by Strabo.J Cais is 
the proper Gaelic name of cheese — cabog, the Scots kebbuck, seems 
to denote the shape. The process of making cheese in the Highlands 
has been before alluded to. There is one sort, of which some people 
are very fond, called cais tennal, or gathered curd, which is thus made : 
— the whey being pressed front the curd, it is put, without any salt, into 
a damp and dark place, where it is allowed to remain for fourteen or 
twenty days, when it is broken down, mixed with salt in the usual pro- 
portion, and put into the cheese press, becoming ripe for use in six or 
eight months. It is generally made of sweet milk, but cream is some- 
times added when the salt is mixed with it. Cheese of goat and ewe 
milk is only used by the poorer people ; the former yields scarce any 
cream, — the latter makes tolerable cheese, but white rancid butter. It 
was usually mixed with that of the cow, and the mixture produced the 
best of all cheese. Little goats' milk is now to be seen in the High- 
lands ; and, since the establishment of large sheep farms, no ewes' milk 
at all. 

A great accession to the supply of food is procured from the cultiva- 

* Riche. t The Germans used coagulated milk. Tac. de Mor. Germano'um 

i Lib. iv. p. 200. 



BREAD. 321 

tion of the soil. Panick was much used in Aquitain, and formed part 
of the food of all the Celtse; the nations on the Euxine had no daintier 
meat than what was made of this grain ; about the Po, they scarcely 
used any of it without a mixture of beans.* Barley gruel was in com- 
mon use among the Gauls. In Germany, they cultivated oats, and 
lived much on gruel, or pottage, made of it, which they called abre- 
mouz.| The Japides, a Celtic nation in Pannonia, lived chiefly on 
oatmeal and millet. The Britons used the panick, which was first cul- 
tivated by the Gauls; and, in very ancient times, were accustomed to 
take as much grain from their storehouses as would serve them for a 
day, and having dried and bruised the grains, they made a sort of food 
for immediate use. J The Irish and ancient Caledonians pursued the 
same system, and among the remote Highlanders it still exists. They 
bring home at night as much corn in the ear as may be wanted at the 
time, and quickly convert it into meal in the manner described in 
page 313. 

Eireirich, or araradh, is a term which the Highlanders apply both to 
the drying of corn in a pot, according to the old practice, and to the 
grain and bread so prepared. Giraldus Cambrensis says the Welsh 
lived on butter, cheese, Stc. with plenty of flesh, but used very little 
bread. The Irish ate their flesh without bread, keeping what corn they 
had for their horses. § An assertion that, in a wild part of Argyleshire 
there was no bread, until some strangers arrived and taught the art of 
baking, is certainly untrue. 1| The bread of the Gauls, who, according 
to Athenseus, used but little, was superior to that of the Romans, from 
the use of yeast in the kneading of the dough. Their knowledge of 
brewing enabled them to procure barm, which was a much better 
ingredient than honey or eggs, used by other nations. "When the 
Gallic and Celtiberian brewers steeped their wheat in water, and 
mashed it for their drink, they took the froth that collects at top, and 
used it instead of leaven, which was the reason that their bread was 
always lighter than any other. "IT 

Ovens must have been very early known to the Britons, from the dis- 
coveries of baked pottery; but if applied to the purposes of cooking, 
they were, probably, confined to the establishments of chiefs ; neverthe- 
less, the Celtae excelled in preparing their bread, which Pliny attests 
was the best in the world. It was baked on stones placed around the 
fire, which the Britons denominated greidiol ; and Whitaker says the 
inhabitants of Manchester retained this simple mode of preparing their 
bread until recent times. From this word is derived the Scotish 
girdle, a round piece of iron suspended over the fire, on which oat 
cakes are baked. Amongst the most rural of the Scots, the " cakes " 
are still " fired " in this manner, and are called bonnach claiche, or 

* Pliny. The Sarmatians lived chiefly on pottage, or gruel of millet, axid used raw 
meal mixed with the milk of mares, and sometimes with the blood of the 'jattle. 

t Ibid. t Diod. v. § Campion. || Birt. U t'»inv xviii. 7 

41 



322 BREAD.— COOKERY. 

rather bonnach lichde, stone cakes. The baking of this family, or 
household bread of the Scots, has not yet become a trade ; every 
guidwife makes her own cakes, by which, as the agricultural reporter 
of the Isle of Man observes of the people of that interesting island, she 
is independent of the baker. There is no scarcity of bakers of wheaten 
bread, but oat cakes have not been sold, except, perhaps, in the lowest 
purlieus of Edinburgh, Glasgow, Aberdeen, or other large and manu- 
facturing cities. 

Froissart gives us a curious account of the mode in which the Scots 
soldiers were anciently accustomed to convert their meal into cakes. 
Observing that neither knights nor squires took carriages into the 
field with them, he says, " every man carries about the saddle of his 
horse a great flat plate, and he trusses behind him a wallet of meal, the 
purpose of which is this: — after a Scotish soldier has eaten flesh so 
long that he begins to loathe it, he throws this plate into the fire, then 
moistens a little of his meal in water, and when the plate is heated he 
lays his paste upon it, and makes a little cake, which he eats to 
comfort his stomach. Hence it is not strange that the Scots should be 
able to make longer marches than other men." 

The occupations of baking and brewing continued to be performed 
by women, even when the profession had become public* The kings 
of Scotland had bakers and brewers,! ^'^o were, like most professors 
among the Celtic people, hereditary, and were in high estimation, 
holding lands in reward for their services. + 

Little more can be said respecting the art of cookery, or the various 
dishes of the ancient Cftts. The Germans ate their venison fresh, § 
the Gauls occasionally salted it.[| These latter also used great quan- 
tities of flesh sodden in water, or roasted on the coals or on spits. IT 
They had abundance of provisions, and were not indisposed to improve 
their food by culinary process, but it would appear they preferred plain 
joints, and feasted with more delight on such substantial fare as " the 
roast beef of old England," than on soups and hashes, so much esteem- 
ed by their French posterity. It appears from Varro, that they sent 
into Italy, sausages, hogs' puddings, gammons of bacon, and hams. 
The Celtic women carried pots of pudding into the baths, which they 
eat along with their children while they washed.** 

The British tribes, who " were contented with plain and homely 
fare," were, probably, less expert in the art of cookery than those of 
the continent, and the people in the northern division of the island 
must have been still less versed in the science. The activity of their 
lives, and healthy, robust constitutions, imparted a zest to their rough 
and scanty meals, which epicures wish for in vain. The heroes of 

* When making bread became a trade at Rome, the chief bakers were Kfomen. — Pliny. 
1 Baxter and Brewster, whence the family names. 

t Caledonia, Robertson's Index, &c. § Tac. de Mor. Germ. || Strabo. 

IT Athenseus. ** Plutarch, viii. 9. 



CANNIBALISM. 323 

Lacedemon lived on a certain black broth, so unsavory and coarse to 
those of more delicate taste, that a citizen of Sybaris, tasting it, said he 
ceased to wonder at the Spartan contempt for death, since they were 
obliged to live on such fare. The observation which was made to the 
tyrant Dionysius respecting it had more truth but less wit ; "the dish 
wants the sauce," remarked the cook. " What sauce," asked he. 
" That of a good appetite," was the reply. The art of cookery is, 
however, of more importance than might at first be supposed, and Drs. 
Hunter and Kitchener, Count Rumford, and others have employed 
their talents in this useful science ; but, although duly appreciated, it 
is by no means so highly esteemed as formerly. In the middle ages, 
the master cook, provost of the cooks, &c. were officers of dignity and 
emolument, and the king's larderer, was often a clergyman of high 
rank. His Majesty's cook is allowed, by the laws of honor and prece- 
dence the title of Esquire, now so much prostituted: but to return to 
the food of the ancient Celts. In Dio's account of the expedition of 
Severus, the food of the people beyond Adrian's wall is said to have 
been the milk and flesh of their flocks, what they procured by hunting, 
with the fruits of trees, and leaves and roots of herbs. The inhabi- 
tants of Thule lived chiefly on milk in summer, and on fruit in winter. 
The stature and strength of the ancient Caledonians indicate a suffi- 
ciency of food, yet they appear to have had some means of subsistence 
with which we are not sufficiently acquainted. 

The Gauls are not entirely free from the imputation of cannibalism. 
Those who went into Greece with Brennus, according to Pausanias, 
drank the blood and ate the flesh of the best conditioned infants at the 
breast.* The horrors of famine may be an excuse for so revolting a 
practice. Those who resisted the Cimbri and Teutones were reduced 
to the deplorable necessity of living on the bodies of the aged ; and 
long afterwards, when besieged in Alesia, Critognatus, the command- 
ing general, advised his adherents to imitate their ancestors and do the 
same, rather than yield. t 

The testimony of St. Jerome, representing the Scots or Attacots as 
cannibals, is well known. In this noted passage it is said, that when 
these people met with herds of cattle, sheep, and pigs, they were wont 
to select the most delicate parts of both the male and female keepers for 
their repasts. The correctness of this translation has been questioned, 
and the meaning asserted to be, merely that they preferred the rumps 
of the oxen, and udders of the cows, leaving untouched the other parts. 
I am afraid, however awkward the sentence may be, " pastorum nates, 
et feminarum papillas," cannot well be mistaken; but, with deference 
to the Saint's authority, we may entertain some doubt of the prevalence 
of so horrible a practice. Diodorus had indeed said, that those nations 
who were towards the north, bordering upon Scythia, were so fierce and 
savage that they, according to report, ate men as the Britona who 
* Lib. X. c. 22. t Bello Gall. vii. 71. 



324 CANNIBALISM.— FOOD. 

inhabited Iris did; and he is, unfortunately, not the sole authority foi 
this shocking propensity of the ancient Irish. Strabo accuses them of a 
gluttonous indulgence in human flesh, and says they did not hesitate to 
eat their dead relations,* in which he is followed by Solinus, who repre- 
sents them in a state of deplorable barbarity. Except we believe that 
those authors were misinformed, or exaggerated the vices of a people of 
whom so little was then known, it is to be feared the Irish, who claim the 
Attacots as a native tribe, must take them with this imputation, to which 
their ancestors, from concurring authorities, seem more certainly obnox- 
ious than the Scots of Britam. 

It will scarcely excite surprise that this idea of the cannibalism of the 
Celts should have prevailed among the ancients, concerning a people 
who were so distant, and reputed so barbarous, when we find that, so 
recently as the rebellion of 1745, the people of England really believed 
that the Highlanders were accustomed to eat children, a fact which is 
attested by several officers of the Scots army! Mr, Cameron, of 
Locheil, on entering a house, was implored by a woman to spare her 
children; and on his assuring her, with some surprise at her alarm, that 
he had not the least intention of doing them any injury, she released 
them from a closet where they were concealed, telling them to come out, 
for the gentleman would not devour them! Mr. Halkston, of Rathillet, 
also, in inquiring where all the children were, as none could be seen, 
was told that they had been sent out of the way, to prevent their falling 
into the hands of the Highlanders, who were believed to eat human 
flesh ! I Perhaps the good folks of England were at some loss to conceive 
how these Highlanders lived, they seemed to require so little food. J 
They did not, indeed, obtain very large rations during the progress of 
the rebellion, and it was well that their desires were moderate. When 
the Highlanders of former days took the field, they only provided them- 
selves with a small bag of oatmeal: in 1745, they often had nothing else 
to carry them through their toilsome marches than a little of this, which 
they ate mixed with water, morning and evening; but, to them, this rough 
fare was no privation. The ability of the Highlander to endure a long 
abstinence from food was remarkable; and the ancient Caledonian much 
excelled his posterity, for he could live many days concealed in the 
marshes, up to the neck in water, without sustenance; and in the woods 
he could live on the bark, roots, and leaves of trees. The Scots have 
always been an abstemious or rough-living people — a quality excellent 
for soldiers. Cromwell complained that his troops were ruined, for 
" whom the Scots were too hard in respect of enduring the winter's 
difficulty." 

The usual diet of the present Highlanders is milk and cream, cheese, 
butter, oat and barley cakes, and mutton or goat's flesh, with that excel- 

* Lib. iv. p. 20L t Memoirs of the Chev. Johnstone, and remarks on ditto. 

( It was said by the troops who so ineffectually pursued them, that " they lived by 
siuiffini.' the wind ' 



BROSE.— BROCH AN.— SUANS— POTTAGE.— POTATOES. 326 

leit article, potatoes. They also have meal of peas, which they usually 
buy unground, and which they use with milk in bread and puddings.* 
When at the Shealings in the summer months, their meals in general con- 
sist of curds and cream, or oatmeal and cream, mixed cold, and qualified 
by a glass of good whisky. In times of scarcity, which have frequently 
occurred in the Highlands, the inhabitants are under the necessity of 
bleeding their cattle in summer, and dividing the coagulated blood into 
square cakes, they boil it, and eat it with milk or whey."]" 

Bruthuiste, or brose, a dish said to be of Greek derivation, is common 
all over Scotland. In the most simple preparation, it is merely meal and 
hot water mixed together; to which butter is added; but the proper way 
is to use the juice of cabbages or turnips in which meat has been boiled. 
The Irish, says Campion, "crammed" oatmeal and butter together. 
The Highlanders do the same still, forming it into rolls like sausages, 
called bodmear. 

Brochan is a similar preparation to oatmeal gruel, but the Gael fre- 
quently add onions, and sometimes even pounded cheese. Easoch, or 
thin brochan, is eaten with bannocks, and was the sole winter diet of 
thousands of the Highlanders in the time of Martin. 

Sughan is the suans or sowens of the Low Country, being the juice 
of" sids," or the siftings of oatmeal, after having been steeped in water 
until it has acquired a slight acidity. In the process of making sowens, 
a peculiar sieve is used in draining the liquid, which is thin and white, 
and, on being boiled, acquires a starchy consistency, in which state it is 
usually eaten with milk, and termed lagan by the Gael; but many prefer 
it " knotted," or half boiled, with the addition of butter, a little sugar, or 
treacle. This is the preparation of which all in the Low Country par- 
take on the morning of Yule day or Christmas. Cath-bhruich is sowens 
as thin as brochan — acidulated gruel, one of the most healthy prep- 
arations. 

Libhte, or pottage, is the favorite preparation of oatmeal in Scot- 
land. That it was much used in ancient times, appears from St. Jerome, 
who taunts Celestinus, a native, for gorging himself with Scots pot- 

Drammack, in Gaelic Tiorman, is oatmeal and a little salt, sprinkled 
with cold water, and stirred with the hand until the whole is in a state 
of adherence. This is preferable to eating the meal dry, and is more 
agreeable than the fuarag or crowdy, which is a thinnish mixture of 
meal and any cold liquid. When milk is at hand, the crowdy, to save 
time, is preferred to drammack. 

Potatoes have been a fortunate acquisition to the Highlanders. The 
various soups and other dishes of which they form a principal part, need 
not be enumerated; but the practice of boiling and mashing them, and 

* A mixture of bean and barley-meal used to be a favorite food in the south of 
Scotland. t Rev. Skene Keith, in Rep. of the Agriculture of Aberdeenshire, 

t St. Hieron. on Jeremiah. 



326 OON.— ANCIENT COOKING. FUEL.— 

slicing them up the next morning for the purpose of being toasted liKe 
bread, seems peculiar to the mountaineers. 

Oon froth is a quantity of milk or whey boiled, and then worked up 
by a stick having a cross part at the lower end. This substitute for 
more substantial fare was oflen used by the poor of the Western Isles; 
and Martin asserts that he saw those who had for months lived on whey 
thus prepared, climb the rugged mountains with as much agility as those 
who were better fed. Many curious anecdotes might be told of this 
pleasant but unsubstantial mess. 

The people in the remote islands boiled dulce, a seaweed, gathered 
from the rocks, and if able to add a little butter to it, it was esteemed a 
very excellent dish. 

When cattle were slaughtered, the smith got the head, the quarter- 
master got the hides, and the piper was entitled to a certain share. This 
last person was called ullaicher, literally, provider of both food and lodg- 
mgs. Droin-uinn, a rump, has been called the bard's portion from this 
circumstance: — when a person was helped to this part, he or she was 
obliged to compose a verse, or resign the nice morsel. A few of these 
rhymes would be a curious collection. 

In dressing flesh-meat, the old Gael were probably contented with 
plain roasting and boiling, the latter being most usual. In the poem on 
the death of Carril, mircorra, a favorite dish with Fingal and Gaul, is 
mentioned. It was a choice coUop, chopped small, and mixed with 
marrow and herb-seeds. The ancient manner of preparing their meat, 
after hunting, as preserved by tradition among the Highlanders, is 
curious. A pit, lined with smooth stones, was made, and near it a heap 
of smooth flat pebbles was placed. The stones and the pit were both 
well heated by burning heath, and part of the venison was then laid in 
the pit, and covered by the hot, loose stones ; another piece was laid 
over that, and the same process repeated until the pit was full, when it 
was closed over with heath. To confirm this tradition, pits are shown 
in various parts ; and a passage in the poem of Fingal thus describes 
the preparations : "It was on Cromla's shaggy side that Dorglas had 
placed the deer, the early fortune of the chase, before the heroes left 
the hill. A hundred youths collect the heath ; ten warriors wake the 
fire ; three hundred choose the polished stones. The feast is smoking 
wide." 

The fires of the ancient Caledonians were formed of wood ; and, at 
their feasts, a large trunk of an oak tree was reckoned an indispensable 
part of the entertainment ; and so much attached were the people to the 
practice, that they viewed its disuse as a kind of sacrilege. The decay 
of the forests prevents the general use of wood ; and peats, or turf, have 
long been the common fuel in the Highlands and in the North. The 
use of coal was early adopted in many parts, to which necessity alone 
seems to have led. ^neas Sylvius, afterwards Pope Pius II., says, the 
poor people of Scotland were obliged to burn black stone instead of 



FUEL.— COOKING UTENSILS. t^l" 

wood* At this day, crofters will go ten or fifteen miles for peat, in 
preference to coal, which might be had with less trouble and at as little 
expense. In digging turf, a particular spade is used, represented in the 
closing vignette of last Chapter, which cuts it into regular squares of 
the form of a brick, the workmen either casting the peats, as it is called, 
by cutting horizontally or perpendicularly. The latter, called pitting, 
was the ancient way of working mosses in the Highlands, and although, 
in some respects, objectionable, it is not so destructive to the bogs as 
running level, by which mosses have, in some cases, been rapidly 
exhausted. The Irish taught the inhabitants of Lismore and other 
islands the method of baking loose peat earth, which forms serviceable 
fuel. The cottages are always accompanied by the peat-stack, that is, 
the fuel neatly built up at the end of the house, a covering being formed 
of the surface parts of the moss or heath dug in large pieces. Great 
part of the summer is often consumed in casting and bringing from a 
distance the winter's stock of fuel, in which work the poor have the 
voluntary assistance of their neighbors. 

The Celts used numbers of pots, pans, and spits for preparing their 
victuals; and thought game, killed by arrows dipt in the juice of helle- 
bore, the flesh surrounding the wound, being speedily cut away, became 
tender. The Britons, there is reason to believe, were less nice in their 
taste, and less attentive to their culinary arrangements. Among the 
rude tribes of the North, such an art received but very little attention. 
Their mode of roasting or baking, already described, was ingenious; but 
even in the time of Bruce the raw hide of the animal, stretched on four 
sticks, was used to form the bag in which the flesh was seethed. When 
Douglas and Murray retreated, after the celebrated inroad which they 
made on England, no less than three hundred of these awkward utensils, 
with a thousand wooden spits, were found in the camp which they had 
evacuated. The people of some parts of the Highlands, at a much later 
period, continued this custom. Birt tells us they had a wooden vessel, 
hollowed by the dirk, for the purpose of heating water, by means of hot 
pebbles thrown into it. The most ancient iron pot is seen in the vignette, 
with a high neck, and the sort at present in common use, which is not 
reckoned so good for boiling, is beside it. 

In hunting, the flesh was occasionally eaten raw, after the blood ,was 
squeezed out; but the Irish were more accustomed to this barbarous 
food, and Campion remarks, that the flesh thus swallowed " was boyled 
in their stomaks with aqua vitse, which they swill in after such a sur- 
feite by quarts and pottles." They also, he says, bled their cattle, and 
baked the curdled blood spread with butter. A French writer, some 
centuries ago, describes Scotland as " pauvre en or, et en argent, mais 
fort bon en vivres;" and again, " assez des veaux et vaches, et par le 
moyen la chair est a bon compte." 

* Gough's Top. ii. 5G4. A coal mine was discovered in Ireland concerning whicii 
there was no tradition. Hamilton's Letters on the Coast of Antrim. 



328 SALT.— PORK. 

The Caledonians, no doubt, preserved their meat by salt, which the 
surrounding ocean would supply; in the isles, the ashes of burnt sea 
ware was often used to preserve fowl and to mix in cheese ; but they 
could save fish for many months without salt. In Gaul and Germany, 
salt was made by pouring seawater upon burning wood. For this pur- 
pose the oak was generally preferred, the ashes of which alone was 
sometimes used. In certain parts hazael was considered best for the 
purpose; but all salt so made, as might be expected, was very black. 
The Umbrians procured this article by boiling some sort of reeds and 
canes until the water was nearly evaporated. At Egelastge, in Spain, 
there were mines whence salt was dug, which was reckoned medicinal.* 
No river in Germany possesses the qualities which are ascribed to one 
by Tacitus, who is either misunderstood or has been imposed upon by 
his informers. As the story is curious, it may be related: the Catti and 
Hermanduri quarrelled about the property of a river, the waters of which, 
on being poured over large fires of wood, produced salt, and they were, 
perhaps, the more irritable on the subject of their respective rights, in 
consequence of a belief that the stream and the neighboring woods were 
near heaven. The war seemed to be one of extermination; for the Cat 
tans, who were ultimately defeated, had taken a vow to devote the whole 
of their opponents — men, horses, and every article to be burnt or slain, 
in honor of Mars and Mercury. ■]" There was also a controversy, 
fomented by the Romans, in the time of Marcellinus, between the Bur- 
gundians and Germans, concerning salt-pits. 

The Britons procured salt from mines, and one of the ancient roads is 
called the Salt way. Many curious observances, to be deduced from 
the Celts, were connected with this article, several of which still exist. 
The Manx will do nothing without carrying or interchanging salt; a 
beggar will even refuse alms if offered without it. J Camden says, that 
before the Irish put seed in the ground, the mistress sent salt into the 
field; and when a person entered on a public office, women in the 
street, and girls from windows, sprinkled them and their attendants 
with it. In parts of Scotland, a portion is put into the first of a cow's 
milk after calving, which is intended to prevent the person who receives 
it, if one of the ** uncanny," from doing any harm to the cattle; § and 
that it was an antidote to witchcraft, we learn from Reginald Scot, who 
assures us the devil cannot bear to take any in his meat, it being a sign 
of eternity. The Gorleg yr Halen, or prelude of the salt, is a tune which 
was first played, say the Welsh, when the salt-seller was placed before 
Arthur and his celebrated knights, |1 a fanciful origin, perhaps, of a more 
ancient ceremony. The Scots were anciently accustomed to salt beef 
in the hide. 

The Celts are said to have had a dislike to the flesh of swine, which 
is supposed to have arisen from religious scruples. This aversion does 

" Pliny, xxxi. 7. t Tacitus' Annals, xiii. | Waldrons' History 

§ Stat. Account of Killearn, &c. |1 Pennant's Tour in Wales. 



FISH. 329 

exist, but it appears doubtful whether the antipathy is of ancient origin. 
The laws of Kenneth Mac Alpin contain some regulations respecting 
this animal; and from the Chartularies and other documents, it is appar- 
ent that very considerable numbers were formerly reared. The Gauls 
who inhabited Pesinus, a city of Galatia, could not bear to touch swine,* 
but the boar was a favorite object of pursuit with the Celtic huntsman, ■]" 
and Strabo says, they used much pork, both fresh and salted. J In Spain, 
the inhabitants used to live on boar's flesh; but they believed that, to 
eat of the heads, drove men mad, and, therefore, effectually to guard 
agamst that calamity, they always burned them.^ There was not, 
among the ancient Britons, a daintier dish than the chenerotis, a bird 
less than a goose. || 

The Celtae did not in general make use of fish as an article of food, 
from religious prejudices; for, as they adored the waters, it would appear 
they abstained from living on the inhabitants of that element. This 
abstinence, however, was not universally adhered to, for the Celtiberi 
caught scombri, or mackerel, from which they procured the celebrated 
garum,Tr and Athenaeus says, the nations about the Po used both sea and 
river fish; while Solinus informs us, the people of the Hebuda3 Islands 
lived on them; but the Caledonians are expressly noticed by Dio and 
Herodian as not eating the fish with which their seas and rivers abounded. 
The Irish " had little skill in catching fish" two centuries ago, a proof 
that they paid small attention to the pursuit; and the Highlanders appear 
to have been still more indifferent to it, and had a particular antipathy to 
eels and pike. From the abundance of land animals and the feathered 
race, this dislike to a species of food so excellent, and so bounteously pro- 
vided by nature, in a country where the variable climate renders the 
harvest so uncertain, may have, in ancient times, produced little effect; 
but the continuance of so much indifference to so obvious a source of 
national profit is much to be regretted. The clergy were obliged to eat 
fish during their fasts, and necessity would, no doubt, compel the Celt 
to relinquish his ancient prejudice for a time, and might, ultimately, 
subdue his obstinacy; but as he had no motive ever to catch more than 
was suflicient for his wants, he was not likely to become very enterpris- 
ing. The Dalriads, it must be observed, did not refuse to partake of 
fish; and in a copy of the poem of Darthula, in possession of the High- 
land Society, and of date 1238, their food is said to have consisted of 
fish and venison, but the Highlanders, notwithstanding the mention of 
fish in several old poems, certainly did never willingly make use of 
such food. It was matter of astonishment to an English resident 
among them a century ago, that the trout with which their streams 
were teeming remained entirely disregarded; but they retain a proverb 
which implies their contempt for fish-eaters, and the encouragement of 

* Pausanias, vii. 17. * Pork was much esteemed among the Scandinavians. Pink. 

t Lib. iv. 19. § Pliny, viii. 36. H Pliny, xxii. 

^ Pliny, xxxi. The Scyths ate river fish. 

42 



330 FISH. 

government has not yet induced either the Scots, Welsh, or Irish, to 
enter with spirit into the fishing trade. "When we see a principle of 
religion itself exploded, producing consequences through so many cen- 
turies of change, we ought not to be surprised that the manners and 
customs of the same races of men should have continued for ages, so 
extremely analogous."* No great lines were formerly used in the west 
isles of Scotland; but cod, ling, and other large fish were angled for, 
and occasionally they were speared. 

The Seal, Ron, may not have been considered as a fish by the Gael, 
as it appears to have been eaten by them in most ancient times. The 
monks of lona had artificial ponds of salt water, in which they were 
preserved,! ^^^ many of the Highlanders were accustomed in the last 
century to cure hams of them. Young seals are even at the present 
day eaten in some of the Orkney Islands. J Many dishes were formerly 
esteemed, that would now be thought intolerable. The monks of Dum- 
fermline had a grant from Malcolm IV. of all the heads of a species 
of whale, called crespeis, that should be caught in Scotwattre, or 
the Firth of Forth, his Majesty reserving the tongues, as the most 
dainty part, for himself In 1290, the ship that was sent to bring over 
the Maiden of Norway had the fish part of her provisions from Aberdeen, 
and, amongst other articles, were fifty pounds of whale. § Martin, whose 
curious work appeared in the beginning of last century, says the people 
of Tirey ate whales with certain roots. Seals and porpoises were com- 
mon at English tables in the time of Richard II. At Uist they were 
regularly fished for in Martin's time; the steward and his officer had 
each a young one, as a perquisite, and the minister was allowed his 
choice of those caught. A poem in Mac Donald's collection, of a date 
somewhat later, contains these lines: 

" Nuair a'ghabhd go tamh, 

Ann an cala port sheamh 

Cha b T hallan bhom laitnhs an ron." 

In Aberdeenshire, a traveller of the last century observed, that "there 
was neither fine architecture nor gardening, but abundance of good cheer 
and good neighborhood," the servants, during the summer, having so 
much salmon that they refused to eat of it oftener than twice a week.|l 
In that part of the country a favorite winter dish is " stappit heads," 
or boiled haddocks, the heads being filled with a mixture of oatmeal, 
onions, and pepper. It is from the fishing villages on the coast of Kin- 
cardineshire, the adjoining county, that the much esteemed fish called 
Finan haddocks, from the name of a small port, are procured. They 
are cut open when taken, and cured by being suspended for some time in 
the smoke of turf In the isle of Sky, herrings were dried and preserv- 

• Caledonia, i. p. 460. It is but just, however, to remark, that the English have not 
engaged with greater spirit into the fisheries than the Scots. 

t Adomnan, i. c. 41. t Stat. Account, vii. 46. 

§ Mac Pherson's Annals of Commerce. || Journey through Scotland, 1729. 



HOSPITALITY. 331 

ed without salt, and if they were taken after the 1 0th of September, O 
S., they would keep for eight months. About the Po, the inhabitants 
ate their fish either roasted or boiled, with vinegar, salt, and cummin, 
oil being too scarce for common use, but, had it been otherwise, they 
did not like it so well as their old sauce. 

The Scots have but very recently divested themselves of many preju- 
dices against certain fish, and those without scales are still disliked. 
" It was only at a late period that turbot was relished even in Fife, where 
fishing is so generally followed; and people advanced in life do not yet 
esteem it so much as the halibut, which is very commonly dignified with 
the name of turbot. There are living, or were very lately, in one of the 
coast towns, several poor people who were wont to derive great part of 
their subsistence from the turbots which the fishermen threw away on 
the beach, because nobody could be found to purchase them."* 

Hospitality was a virtue which the Celts carried to the extreme. 
They took the greatest delight in inviting strangers to their tables, be- 
fore whom were always placed the fairest and best joints.| The Celti- 
beri were famed for courteousness to strangers, from whatever place 
they came; and those who were so fortunate as to have it in their power 
to entertain guests, were esteemed the favorites of the gods.^f In deeds 
of hospitality and social feasts, says Tacitus, no nation on earth was ever 
more liberal than the Germans. J The Gaulish chiefs had always a 
numerous retinue, who followed them to the war, and lived well at their 
expense. 

Some curious instances of the delight which the Celts took in an os- 
tentatious display of liberality are recorded. Ariamnes, a wealthy Ga- 
latian, formed a resolution of entertaining all his countrymen for a whole 
year, at his individual expense, and he proceeded in this manner. He 
divided the roads throughout the provinces into convenient day's journeys, 
and with reeds, poles, and willows, erected pavilions capable of contain- 
ing three hundred persons or upwards, and having the preceding year 
employed numerous artificers to fabricate caldrons, he placed them in 
these buildings, and kept them continually full of all sorts of flesh. Every 
day many bulls, swine, sheep, and other cattle were slain, and many 
measures of corn, and much barley meal ready kneaded, was procured; 
and all this was not confined to the inhabitants, but the servants were 
instructed to constrain all strangers to partake of the feast. ^ The rich- 
es of the Gauls enabled them to indulge in very extravagant expenditure. 
Luernius, a king of the Arverni, to court popularity, was accustomed 

" Tullis's ed. of Sibbald's Hist, of Fife. 

t Diodorus. Cffisar in like manner celebrates their hospitality, vi. 23. 

t De Mor. Germ. This is a virtue of most unpolished nations. A poor woman in 
Norway refused any payment from som.e English travellers, observing, that " as long 
as the earth gives us corn, and the sea fish, no one shall have to say we have taken 
money of him." Boye's Tour in Norway. The Poles had Radogost, the god of hos- 
!)itality, and the only one worshipped, in a covered temple, called Gontina. 

§ Athenaeus, iv. 



332 HOSPITALITY. 

to throw silver and gold among the crowds who followed him as he drove 
through the fields. On one occasion he inclosed a space of twelve fur- 
longs, in which he had constructed ponds filled with costly and delicious 
liquors. Stores of victuals, ready cooked, were also provided, sufficient 
for all who chose to partake of them, for many days.* It is not to be 
doubted but numbers availed themselves of this munificent treat, and 
the pleasure of the feast was heightened by the civilities of numerous 
attendants. 

The manner in which the Germans received their guests was familiar 
and kind. To refuse admitting any person whatever, was held wicked 
and inhuman. Every one that came to a house was received and treat- 
ed with lodging and repasts, as long and as liberally as the owner could 
possibly afford, and, when his whole stock was consumed, he took his 
guests to a new scene of hospitality, both proceeding to the next house, 
to which the formality of an invitation was unnecessary, and where they 
were received with the same frankness and joy, no difference being ever 
made between a stranger and an acquaintance, in dispensing the rites 
of hospitality. Upon the departure of a guest, if he asked any thing, it 
was cheerfully given. Favors were requested and bestowed with equal 
familiarity,! for in mutual gifts the Celts delighted, but neither claimed 
merit from what they gave, nor acknowledged any obhgation for what 
they received. The Gauls, with singular delicacy, never asked the 
name of a stranger, what he was, or his business, until the entertainment 
was all over.J The guest of a Highland chief was not questioned as to 
his business until the expiration of a year, should he stop so long.^^ 
There was a striking resemblance to these manners in the practice of 
hospitality among the Britons, who cherished this characteristic virtue of 
the Gauls as long as they were able to retain their primitive Celtic man- 
ners. Giraldus Cambrensis says of the Welsh, that when a stranger 
entered a house, water was immediately brought for him to wash his 
feet. If he did so, it was then known that he would stop some time, 
perhaps for the night, or longer, which diffused great joy throughout the 
family, and every entertainment which they could afford was provided 
for their guest. 1| 

The Highlanders of Scotland formerly carried their hospitality to as 
great an extent as the ancient Celtae ; and even at this day the more se- 
questered inhabitants are prone to indulge in a habit of liberality, which, 
however honorable to their feelings, their limited means do not altogeth- 
er justify. In past ages, it was uniformly a practice to leave their doors 
open during the night, as well as the day, that any traveller might be 
able to avail himself of shelter and entertainment. It was long consid- 
ered infamous in a man of condition to have the door of his house ever 
shut, lest, as the bards expressed it, the stranger should come and be- 

* Ibid., from Posidonius. Strabo also extols the Celtic feasts. 

t Tac. de Mor. Germ. t Diodorus. 

§ Dr. Mac Pherson. H Descriptio Camb. c. 10. 



HOSPITALITY. 333 

hold his contracted soul. The gate of Fingal stood always open, and his 
hall was the stranger's home.* The Celts never closed the doors of their 
houses,! but esteemed it the greatest happiness to have the opportunity 
of entertaining strangers. In later times, it was the practice in Scotland, 
before closing the doors, to look out for strangers or wayfaring men, and 
it is still remembered in the traditions of the peasantry in many parts of 
the North, that the Laird had his " latter meat table," daily spread for 
all who chose to partake of his liberalHy. 

To their friends, the Gael gave the protection of their roof, regardless 
of circumstances. To one who besought their hospitality, they perform- 
ed the sacred duty, and were ready to fulfil their own saying, " I would 
give him a night's fare, although he had a man's head under his arm- 
pit." An anecdote told of Mac Gregor, of Glenstrse, and youno- La- 
mond, of Cowal, is in point. The latter had killed the only son of Mac 
Gregor, and, when pursued, had rushed into the father's house to save 
his life, without knowing whose protection he had claimed. The old 
Laird, in ignorance of his loss, afforded him an asylum, fulfilled his pledge 
of protection when he knew him as the murderer of his son, and, to pre- 
vent the otherwise inevitable destruction of Lamond, he even aided his 
escape during the night. 

For the following account of a worthy Highlander of the old school, 
I am indebted to Mr, Donald Mac Pherson, author of melodies from the 
Gaelic. Donald Mac Donald, Esq., of Aberarder, of the house of Kep- 
poch, father of Captain Mac Donald, of Moy, was remarkable for his 
hospitality, as well as for many other traits of eccentric virtue. Aberar- 
der House is situated in one of the most romantic spots on earth, at the 
side of Loch Laggan, and is distant on one side four, and on the other 
six, miles from any house. In good weather, he used to seat himself on 
a green knoll, above the mansion, which commanded a view of the road, 
at least a mile each way, and when he discovered a traveller, he used 
to desire Mrs. Mac Donald immediately to prepare food, for that he had 
discovered a stranger, whose slow progress indicated the necessity of 
refreshment. Sometimes, it happened that the stranger passed without 
calling; on discovering which, he would exclaim, " Damn the scoundrel, 
I am sure he is a bad fellow at home." He was even known sometimes 
to follow a considerable distance with food, or to persuade the traveller 
to return and spend the night. 

The unbounded hospitality of the Celtic chief was a favorite theme 
of the Bards, who continued, like their predecessors among the ancient 
Gauls, to fare well at their master's table, and enliven his banquets by 
adulatory effusions. In the compositions of this, latterly, servile body, 
the hero and the hospitable are almost the only persons whose praises 
are extolled, and it is remarkable that in Gaelic there is but one word 
for a landholder and a hospitable man. Cean uia' na dai, or the point 
to which all the roads of the strangers lead, was the epithet bestowed on 

* Smith's Gallic Antiquities. i Agathias. i. p. 13, quoted by Ritson. 



3^4 HOSPITALITY. 

the chief's house ; and so uncommon was it for any to be otherwise 
spoken of, that the translator of Ossian declares, among all the poems 
he nad ever met with, but one man was branded with the charge of 
inhospitalitj. He was described as the cloud which the strangers 
shun. Birt mentions a Laird to whose house he was going, who met 
him with an arcadian offering of milk and cream, carried before him 
by his servants.* 

But it was not the higher order only who were distinguished for the 
virtue of hospitality — the whole population was imbued with a spirit of 
disinterested kindness, which, according to their means, they cheerfully 
displayed. For this feeling the Scots are still remarkable. When 
Dr. Mac CuUoch, who had fallen sick at Dollar, recovered so far as to 
be able to walk forth, " half the whole sex came out of their houses 
when they saw the stranger gentleman crawling up the hill, to offer 
him seats and milk, and what not; and when I returned many years 
afterwards, I was received, not as one who had been a source of trouble, 
but as an old friend." The poorest cottager is ready to share his 
little provision with a stranger. On a hundred occasions I have par- 
taken of their hospitality without being able to prevail on them to 
accept remuneration, which, in some cases, they have refused in a 
manner that showed their feelings were hurt at the idea of soiling their 
meat and drink. It is a common practice, not only where the Gaelic 
prevails, but towards the Lowlands, to set before you milk, ale, bread 
and cheese, or whatever else they may have, unasked. Nor are they 
less willing to afford you the shelter of their roof, nay, will even give 
up the beds of the family for your use; and if you will listen to their 
kind solicitations, your day's march will be often shortened. 

The rites of hospitality were practised to a ruinous extent by the poor 
Islanders, who retained the virtue when its exercise was highly injurious 
to themselves. In the distant isle of Rona the clergyman who super- 
intended the spiritual concerns of the inhabitants, was seldom able to 
reach these remote members of his flock ; but when he could visit 
them, the poor people killed five sheep, being one for each family, and 
presented him with their skins neatly flayed and full of meaLf The 
untutored, but generous islanders carried their charity to an imprudent 
length, for they bestowed so liberally the little they possessed that 
many unprincipled persons frequented the Hebrides for the purpose 
of unworthily profiting by their indiscriminate bounty. Such improv- 
idence, however well meant, brought on these simple people much 
in convenience, and heightened the miseries of occasional want ; and 
it was sometimes necessary for the chiefs to restrain so injurious a 
system of supposed charity, by enjoining their people to bestow their 
alms on natives or acknowledged objects only.J Those who subsisted 
on the bounty of others, in th e Highlands, did not however appear as 

* Letters, ed. 1818, ii. 7. It was customary to offer milk to those passing a fold. 

♦ Martin. t Ibid. 



COSHERING. 335 

paupers. As the houses were never locked up, the poor entered freely, 
and, without begging, were supplied with present food, and perhaps 
something besides ; and if in want of a lodging, a plaid was given them, 
in which they reposed themselves on the floor. The unprotected state 
of the houses proves the honesty of the people. Nothing was stolen, 
even by the poorest mendicants ; and the altered state of society has 
not yet induced the inhabitants of many secluded districts to provide 
bolts for their doors. The number of persons in the Highlands who 
had no means of their own on which to subsist, was very considerable, 
but the statement in the Gartmore MS., where they are calculated at 
57,000, is surely much exaggerated,* It is observable that, at the 
present day, the professional beggars are from the Lowlands. 

The acts of the Scots parliament, ordering " that nane pass in the 
country an'ly on the king's lieges, or thig or sorn on them," but that 
" in all burrowes there sail be hostellaries, and provision for horse and 
man, — that all travelling men on horse or foot lodge in hostellaries, 
and that nane other receive them,""]" were evidently framed to repress 
the practice of idle and dissolute people traversing the country, eu 
couraged by the inconsiderate hospitality of the natives. In Ireland, 
statutes were passed for a similar purpose ; but such acts were anoma 
lous and premature, in that country, for, while coigny and livery were 
prohibited, there were no inns, and it was treason to enter a house for 
refreshment, were it the dwelling of the traveller's own tenant! + 

When, like their ancestors on the continent, the stock of the High 
lander was exhausted, he carried his visiter to the house of his neigh- 
bor, to whose care he was then resigned. " They never depart so long 
as any provision doth last; and when that is done, they go to the next, 
and so from one to one, until they make a round from neighbor to 
neighbor, still carrying the master of the former family with them to 
the next house." This was practised less than fifty years ago, and the 
custom is not entirely laid aside in the present day. It is only an idle 
people who could devote so much time to these protracted entertain- 
ments. 

The practice of entertaining a stranger as long as he chose to stop, 
by a whole circle of friends, was zealously adhered to in Ireland, where 
its ancient name, coshering, is still in use, even in Dublin and other 
cities, and is applied in almost the original sense. The Irish gentlemen 
retain much of the hospitable disposition of the ancient chief, and the 
curious custom alluded to is thus described by a tourist of the last 
century. When strangers arrive at any of their houses, the relations 
of the family are informed of it, who immediately join the company. 
After you have received the attentions of your first host, you are invit- 
ed to another family, where you are entertained with the same hospi- 
tality, and are successively conducted to the houses of others, until 

* Appendix to Birt's Letters, ed. 1818. t Acts of James. I. j: Spenser. 



336 HIGHLAND FEASTING. 

you have gone through the whole circle, if you are inclined to stop so 
long. The day of separation is the only one of grief and discontent,* 
The visits of the flaith, or chief, to the raths, for the redress of popular 
grievances, were the occasions of great feasts, the origin of coshering, 
among the ancient Gael; but the chronicles of Ireland inform us that 
the fonnteach, or house for travellers, kept by a person denominated the 
bruigh, was supported at the public expense; and it is believed that 
every tribe had one of these establishments. In the British Museum is 
preserved a MS., in Gaelic, which gives an account of six of these houses. "f 

It was said of O'Niel, in the language of the bards, that " guests 
were in his house more numerous than trees in the forest." The Mac 
Swineys were anciently famous for hospitality. Near Clodach castle, 
an old seat of theirs, a stone was set up by the highway, on which was 
an inscription, inviting all travellers to repair to the house of Edmund 
Mac Swiney for refreshment. One of the family overturned this stone, 
perhaps for very substantial reasons; but it was well remarked, that he 
who did so never afterwards prospered. Doctor Molloy relates that 
one of his ancestors, in the time of Elizabeth, entertained 960 men, at 
Christmas, in his house of Broghell. 

The Forbes's, of Culloden, near Inverness, were celebrated for their 
extraordinary hospitality. Birt says, there was as much wine spilt 
there as would content a moderate family. "A hogshead was constant- 
ly on tap near the hall door, for the use of all comers; and it appears in 
the account book of President Forbes, that for nine months' house- 
keeping in his family, the wine alone cost a sum which, at the present 
price of that article, would amount to upwards of £2,000, sterling. J 

Among the Scots Highlanders, the chief gave a great entertainment 
after any successful expedition, to which all the country round was 
invited. On an occasion like this, whole deer and beeves were roasted, 
and laid on boards or hurdles of rods placed on the rough trunks of 
trees, so arranged as to form an extended table, and the uisge beatha 
went round in plenteous libations. This was called the sliga crechin, 
from being drunk out of a shell. The pipers played during the feast, 
after which the women danced, and, when they retired, the harpers were 
introduced. There were also entertainments, some of which continued 
to be acted when Dr. Mac Pherson wrote; but if these little dramas 
were, as the Rev. Dr. Mac Leod says, chiefly selections from Ossian, 
they could scarcely deserve the epithet ludicrous, which the former 
applies to them. The funeral of any great personage was accompanied 
with profuse feasting, a custom, although conducted with less extrava- 
gance, not yet disused. At the burial of one of the Lords of the Isles, 
in lona, nine hundred cows, valued at three marks each, were consumed. 

* Luckombe's Tour. 

f Hail. Coll. 5280. Solinus, however, testifies against their hospitality, saying the 
country was rendered inhuman by their savage manners, iii. 6. 
t Culloden Papers, p. xxii. 



HIGHLAND FEASTING. 337 

At Highland encertainments, the chief sat at the upper end of the 
table, and the chieftains and principal men of the clan were ranged on 
each side, in order of precedence, the commons being at the bottom. 
The best dishes were, of course, served to those who occupied the 
honorable end. 

The famous Lord Lovat was a striking example of a genuine chief of 
the old school. About 1725, when he was actively engaged in raising his 
company of the freceadin dhu, his manners, and the arrangement of his 
household, are thus described by a veteran Avho volunteered into his 
service.* His lordship got up between five and six o'clock, when both 
doors and windows were thrown open. Numbers of the vassals were 
about the house, and all were entertained at the chief's expense. The 
lairds sat towards the head of the table, and drank claret with their host; 
ne.xt to these were seated the duin uassals, who drank whisky punch; 
the tenants who were beneath these were supplied with ale ; and at the 
bottom, and even outside, a multitude of the clan regaled themselves 
with bread and an onion, or, perhaps, a little cheese and table beer. 
Lovat, addressing the second class, would say " Cousin, I told the 
servants to hand you wine, but they tell me ye like punch best." To 
others, " Gentlemen, there is what ye please at your service, but I send 
you ale, as I know ye prefer it." It required good management to make 
a limited income sufficient for so liberal house-keeping, and some atten- 
tion was necessary to preserve the motley company in good humor. 

In the laws of Hwyel Dha we find that two tables were daily spread 
in the hall of the palace; the king, with ten chief officers, occupying 
the one; the other being placed at the lower end of the room, for the 
master of the household and other three personages, empty spaces 
being left for such as might, in consequence of misbehavior, be dismiss- 
ed from the king's table. The whole were thus arranged: — the king sat 
next the fire, and close to him the torch bearer, beside whom was 
placed the guest; next, to him sat the heir apparent, then the master of 
the hawks, then the foot holder, to be about the dish with him, and then 
the physician, to be about the fire with him. Next to the fire, on the 
other side, sat the chaplain, to bless the food and chant the Lord's 
Prayer,"!" the crier striking the pillar above his head, to command 
silence. Beside him was placed the judge of the court, and next to 
him the bard of presidency, and the smith of the court sat on the end 
of the form before the priest. The master of the household had his 
station at the lower end of the hall, his left; hand opposite the front door; 
and any of the guests whom he might desire were obliged to sit with 
him. The domestic bard sat on either side of the master of the house- 
hold, and the master of the horse was to be near the fire with the king, 
while the chief huntsman was to be on the other side with the priest. 

* Mem. of Donald Mac Leod. 

} The conclusion of the Highland chaplain's grace always contained a hearty 
prayer for the prosperity of the chief. 
43 



338 CELTIC MEALS. 

Giraldus Cambrensis gives the following description of his country- 
men's meals: — The Welsh " remain fasting from morning to night, 
being employed through the whole day in managing their affairs; and 
in the evening they take a moderate supper. If, by any means, they 
are disappointed of a supper, or get only a very slight one, they wait 
with patience till the succeeding evening. In the evening, the whole 
family being assembled, they prepare their provisions according to their 
ability; in doing which, they study only to satisfy nature, not to provoke 
an appetite by the arts of cookery, sauces, or a variety of dishes. 
When supper is ready, a basket of vegetables is set before every three 
persons, and not before every two, as in other countries. A large dish, 
with meat of various kinds, and sometimes a mess of broth or pottage, 
is added. Their bread is made into thin and broad cakes, which are 
baked from day to day. They neither use tables, table-cloth, nor 
napkins. When strangers are present, the master and mistress of the 
house always serve them personally, and never taste any thing until 
their guests have finished their repast, in order that, should there be 
any deficiency of provisions, it may fall to their share." 

The old Highlanders had but two meals a day. "Taking a small 
bit of oatcake in the morning and passing to the hunting, or other busi- 
ness, they content themselves therewith until the evening."* In distant 
ages, they only took one repast in the day. Lon, or daily meal, is the 
only genuine native word. Breakfast, dinner, and supper are modern 
terms ; but there is certainly diot (Greek Jmitu) bheg, little meal, and 
diot mhor, great meal. Feill, cuirme, and fleagh, were the names 
applied to great feasts. The former was that which a chief gave to his 
vassals, and including the company as well as the entertainment, the 
term became used for a fair.| The galloglach, who carried his master's 
armor, and was himself heavily armed, was allowed a brefier, that is 
a man's meat, or double allowance. The men servants were always 
allowed twice the quantity of food which the women received, an ar- 
rangement of which, says Martin, the females never "complain, from a 
feeling consideration of the more severe labor of the men. When 
allowed meal instead of house board, the scalag received a stone, or 
seventeen pounds' weight per week, the ban scalag, or maid-servant, 
being allowed only a peck, or about eight pounds. 

It was, until lately, customary at festivals to burn a large trunk of a 
tree, which was termed the trunk of the feast. The common people 
looked on it as a sort of sacrilege to discontinue this ancient practice. 
On the first of November, it was an ancient Celtic practice to indulge 
in a sort of feast, which was called la mas ubhal, the day of the apple 
fruit, because, on that occasion, roasted apples were bruised and mixed 
in ale, milk, or, by those who could afford it, in wine. J This is the ori- 
gin of lamb's wool ! 

* Chronicle, 1597. t Ross's Notes on Fingal. \ Vallancey. 



IRISH MEALS. 339 

.An extract from the work of Barnaby Riche will give an idea of 
the coshering feasts of the Irish, and the viands with which the company 
were enlivened. Good bundles of straw, or, in summer, green rushes 
were laid on the floor, on which the guests sat down, another bundle 
being shaken over their legs, on which were placed the dishes and meat. 
The rhymers sang, and the harpers played, whilst the company regaled 
upon beef, mutton, pork, hens, and rabbits, all put together in a great 
wooden dish. They had also oaten cakes, and good store of aqua vitae, 
without which it was not to be termed a feast, and on Wednesday, Fri- 
day, and Saturday, when, according to their religion, they dare eat no 
meat, they substituted plenty offish. 

Derrick gives some other particulars of Irish banquets, which farther 
illustrate the manners of the people. Before they sat down, the priest 
blessed the whole party, and repeated his benediction before they rose 
from the table, after which, we are given to understand, they were well 
prepared for an assault on the English, — a favorite pastime. The seats 
were formed of straw, or hay, plaited into mats or hassocks. They used 
wooden platters,* and " a foyner of three quarters of a yard long," for a 
knife. Milk was their common drink, but on great occasions the uisge 
beatha was handed about in basins. The bards and harpers were not 
brought in until the repast was finished. 

We have some account of their mode of dining, at a more ancient period. 
Sir Richard Cristeed, who was appointed by Richard II. to introduce 
the four kings of Ireland to English customs, thus describes their man- 
ners at table, and his own conduct towards his pupils. " I observed, as 
they sat at table, that they made grimaces that did not seem to me 
graceful or becoming, and I resolved, in my own mind, to make them 
drop that custom. When they were seated at table, and the first dish 
served, they would make their minstrels and principal servants sit beside 
them, and eat from their plates and drink from their cups. They told 
me this was a praiseworthy custom of their country, where every thing 
was in common, but the bed. I permitted this to be done for three 
days; but, on the fourth, I ordered the tables to be laid and covered 
properly, placing the four kings at an upper table, the minstrels at anoth- 
er below, and the servants lower still. They looked at each other and 
refused to eat, saying I had deprived them of their old custom in which 
they had been brought up." Having explained to them that it would 
be neither decent nor honorable to continue it, they good-humoredly 
gave it up. When they were afterwards knighted, and dined with his 
Majesty, notwithstanding their tutoring, and being " very richly dressed, 
suitable to their rank, they were much stared at by the lords and those 
present: not, indeed, without reason; for they were strange figures, 
and differently countenanced to the English, or other nations. We are 
naturally inclined," adds the knight, " to gaze at any thing strange, and 

* Aisead, a platter, in Armoric aczyed, French assiette. 



340 CELTIC FEASTS. 

it was certainly, at that time, a great novelty to see four Irish kings.-"* 
The description of a coronation in Ulster, given by Campion, seems 
rather apocryphal. A white cow was killed by his Majesty, and imme- 
diately seethed whole. In the water of this carcass he placed himself 
naked, and thus sitting, he and his people supped and ate the broth and 
flesh, without spoon or dish ! 

It is not digressing to observe, that knives and forks were not former- 
ly in use among the Gael. Indeed, the latter were introduced in Eng- 
land no earlier than the beginning of the 17th century, and they were not 
very generally used fifty years afterwards. "j* Martin, who visited the 
Isles at the close of that century, says, the people of North Uist used a 
long stick for a fork, when eating the flesh of the seal, on account of its 
oiliness. The Highlanders, who carried knives and forks, politely cut 
the meat for the ladies. The want of these utensils, so indispensable 
in modern society, is not felt by those who are unaccustomed to their 
use, nay, they are considered ridiculous assistants ; so much are we 
under the influence of custom. Among the Arabs, there are no such 
articles as knives, forks, or spoons, but all sorts of victuals are taken 
up in the hands, a mode of feeding at which Europeans are extremely 
awkward: " Poor creatures !" exclaimed they, on observing some of 
our countrymen, who recently visited them, with so much difficulty 
taking up curdled milk in their hands, " they do not even know how to 
eat ; they eat like camels I" 

Diodorus and Athenoeus give curious and not unpleasing pictures of 
the Celtic manner of conducting feasts. The former says, " at their 
meals, they sit upon the ground, on which wolves' or dogs' skins are 
spread ; near at hand, are their fire-places, with many pots and spits, 
full of joints of meat, and they are served by young girls and boys," 
their feasts continuing until midnight. J No one touched any thing 
until the master of the house, or chief person, had first tasted of all the 
dishes. § Among the Germans, every man sat by himself, on a partic- 
ular seat, and at a separate table. || Strabo says, most of the Gauls took 
their meals sitting on rush beds or cushions. When a company could 
agree, they sat down to supper in a circle. In the middle sat he who 
was reckoned most worthy, either from his rank or valor, and next to him 
was placed the person who gave the entertainment. The others were 
arranged, each according to his rank. Behind the guests stood some 
who bore shields, a number of spearmen sat in a circle opposite to the 
others, and both took meat with their lords. The Celts offered their 
libations upon wooden tables, brought in, we are told, neat and clean, 
being raised a little above the ground, and covered with hay. It was 
the custom to put the bread, broken into many pieces, on the table, 
with flesh out of the caldron, of all which the king or chief first tasted, 

* Froissart's Chronicles, vol. iv. c. 84. — Johnes's edition, 
t Beckinann's History of Inventions. | Marcel. 

§ Herodotus, iv. ap. Montf. || Tacitus 



HIGHLAND BANQUET. 341 

Some would take up whole joints with both hands, and tear them in 
pieces with their teeth ; but if the flesh were too tough, they cut it 
with a little knife, which was kept in a sheath, in a certain place near 
at hand. Boys served round the wine, both right and left, in earthen 
or silver pots. The company drank very leisurely, frequently tasting, 
but not taking more at a time than a glassful. After supper, they 
sometimes engaged in sword play, challenging each other to friendly 
combat, in which they only joined their extended hands and points of 
their swords, without injury, but sometimes they began to fight in earnest, 
wounding each other ; in which case, they became irritated, and, if the 
others did not interfere, they fought till death. In former times, also, 
the strongest would take up the limbs of cattle, and, if challenged by 
any, they fought with swords until one was killed.* 

In Celtiberia, the lights were brought in by boys, who cried out 
" vincamus;"! and, speaking of lights, it may be noticed that the sub- 
stitute for a candle among the Gael, and Scots farmers generally, is a 
slip of the resinous fir wood, dug out of the mosses, and dried. This 
is called Gius puil, or blair, and is held beside the guid man during 
meals, by the younger branches of the family. It would seem that, 
anciently, the chiefs had servants for the purpose of holding their rude 
flambeaux ; and a story is related of an Earl of Braidalbane showing 
some English friends these torch-bearers, in proof that he possessed 
much more valuable chandeliers than those of silver exhibited to him in 
the South. Old Gaelic poems mention wax candles as in use. The 
Master of the Lights, an officer in the King of Wales' household, was 
obliged to hold a taper near the king's dish, when eating. 

An ancient and common way among the Highlanders, of illuminating 
their dwellings, is this : — The quantity of gius required for the night is 
split in the morning from the roots, heaped near the peat-stack, and is 
placed on the Suacan, and suspended at a convenient distance over the 
fire, to be thoroughly dried. At the close of the day's labor, the duine, 
literally the man, as the head of every family is emphatically called, 
takes his seat close by the headstone of the fire, which is an oblong solid 
square, generally about three feet long, three feet high, and one and a 
half broad, placed at the back of the hearth. As soon as it is dark, the 
duine kindles the solus, or light, by putting a large burning coal on the 
top of the headstone, and laying some of the dry resinous slips upon it. 
This he continues to feed, by adding a fresh one or two ; and such a 
light will illuminate a large apartment better than six good tallow 
candles. 

The entertainment of James V. by the Earl of Athol, when on a 
hunting visit, as before noticed, was an extraordinary occasion ; but as 
it is characteristic of the manners of the time, and as the various provi- 
sions are minutely detailed in the historian's quaint style, it is desira- 

* Ritson, Mem. of the Celts, 211. This seems what Athenseus calls waging war for 
meat and drink. t Amm. Marc. xvi. 4. 



342 HIGHLAND BANQUET.— BEES. 

ble to insert his account. " There were all kinds of drink, as ale, beer, 
wine, both white and claret, Malvasy, Muskadel, Hippocras, and Aqua- 
vitaj. Further, there was of meats, wheatbread, mainbread, and 
gingerbread, with fleshes, beef, mutton, Iamb, veal, venison, goose, 
grice, capon, coney, cran, swan, partridge, plover, duck, drake, brissel 
cock and pawnies, black cock and muir fowl, capercoilies; and also the 
stanks that were round about the palace were full of all delicate fishes, 
as salmonds, trouts, pearches, pikes, eels, and all other kind of dehcate 
fishes that could be gotten in fresh waters; and all ready for the banquet. 
Syne were there proper stewards, cunning baxters, excellent cooks and 
pottingars, with confections and drugs for their deserts; and the halls 
and chambers were prepared with costly bedding, vessels and napry 
according for a king; so that he wanted none of his orders more than he 
had been at home in his own palace. The king remained in this wilder- 
ness the space of three days and three nights, and his company. I 
heard men say it cost the Earl of Athol every day, in expenses, a thous- 
and pounds. The ambassador of the Pope, seeing this banquet and 
triumph, which was made in a wilderness, where there was no town 
near by twenty miles, thought it a great marvel that such a thing should 
be in Scotland, and that there should be such honesty and policy in it, 
especially in the Highland, where there was but wood and wilderness. 
But most of all, this ambassador marvelled to see, when the king depart- 
ed, and all his men took their leave, the Highlandmen set all this place 
in a fire, that the king and ambassador might see it. Then the ambas- 
sador said to the king, ' I marvel, sir, that you should thole yon fair place 
to be burnt that your Grace has been so well lodged in;' then the king 
answered and said, ' It is the use of our Highlandmen, though they be 
never so well lodged, to burn their lodging when they depart."* 

Water is the natural drink of mankind, but the art of rendering it 
pleasant, or increasing its strength by the addition of various ingredients, 
is found among people in the lowest scale of civilisation. A very simple 
method of producing an agreeable beverage is by the admixture of other 
substances, and we find the Gauls steeping honeycombs in water, and 
the Celtiberi using drinks made of honey. 

It here becomes necessary to say something of this article, the excel- 
lent succedaneum for sugar. "Of all the insect tribes, none have 
engrossed so much attention as bees. Their social habits, and indefatiga- 
ble industry, must have excited the admiration" of mankind in the most 
early ages. Their delicious stores must have equally soon attracted 
attention. The Celtse certainly employed themselves in the manage- 
ment of bees, their honey being in much request for mixture with 
different liquors, and Pliny observes, that the combs were largest among 
the Northern nations, noticing one found in Germany eight feet long, 
which, he says, was black inside. In Spain, which according to Dio- 
dorus, abounded in honey, it had a flavor of broom, from the great 

* Pitscottie, p. 147, fol. ed. 



HONEY DRINK.— MEAD.— MILK. 343 

quantities of that shrub. In this country the people were accustomed, 
wiien the flowers became insufficient to afford the requisite supply for 
the bees, to remove with their hives to a more desirable situation, in the 
same manner that a pastoral people did with their flocks.* The Britons 
kept considerable numbers of these useful insects. In Ireland the Bre- 
hon laws provided for their careful protection, and in the Isle of Man it 
is still a capital crime to steal them. Ireland was celebrated for swarms 
of bees, and abundance of honey, and the monks, in the fourth century, 
according to Ware, had an allowance of a certain quantity in the comb 
fresh from the hive. The Celtic Britons kept their bees in a bascaud 
formed of willow plaited.t About fifty years ago one of these was found 
in Lanishaw Moss, and about eighteen years since another was discov- 
ered, about six feet under ground, in Chat's Moss, both in Lancashire. 
This last was a cone of two yards and a half high, and one in diameter 
at bottom, and was divided into four floors or separate hives, to which 
were doors sufficiently large to admit one's hand. The whole was 
formed of unpeeled willows, and contained combs and complete bees. 
These were larger than the present species, J which may perhaps account 
for the great size of those combs noticed by Pliny. 

Scotland was formerly called a land of milk and honey, but it hardly 
deserves the latter appellation in these days. In most parts of the 
Highlands about fifty years ago, a farmer had two or three hives that 
remunerated him very well for the trouble attending the management. 
It is not so now, which is matter of surprise, the abundance of heath af- 
fording so plentiful a field for the collection of honey, at no expense ; and 
it is well known that what is gathered from the heaths is much preferable 
to that which is extracted from garden flowers. The Highland Society of 
Scotland is, at this time, endeavoring to extend the culture of these use- 
ful insects throughout the country.^ That the Highlanders had ancient- 
ly a liquor made from honey, appears from ancient allusion to it. It is 
probable that the beverage was similar to metheglin, or mead, called 
mil dheoch by the Gael. This excellent liquid is made by boiling honey 
and water in certain proportions, subjecting it to fermentation; and the 
Welsh, who have different ways of making it, and have used it from 
early times, derive its name from medclyg, medicinal, and lyn, drink. 
The mead maker ranked the eleventh person in the household of the 
kings of Wales. The famed Athole brose is a mixture of whisky and 
honey, with a little oatmeal. 

Milk, so easily procured by a pastoral people, is a common and ex- 
cellent drink by itself, and affords, in its different states, a pleasant 

* Pliny, xi. 8, xxi. 13. 

t Kanelh, in Welsh a large basket, is, in Cornish, a bee-hive. 

t Whitaker's Hist, of Manchester. 

§ Many superstitions formerly prevalent, still exist concerning bees. In Devonshire 
they are never paid for in money; never moved but on Good Friday; and, on occasion 
of a funeral, the hives are carefully turned round. — Brande's Pop. Ant. ii. 202. Ellis's 
ed. From Domesday book we find the Custos aplum was a person of some note. 



344 CURMI AND ZTTHUS. 

refreshment,. The making of butter produces whey, a wholesome liquor, 
which some of the Highlanders, Buchanan says, boiled and kept in 
hogsheads under ground for several months, by which it was rendered 
a very agreeable beverage.* Sweet cream mixed with butter-milk is 
delicious. The Irish are said to be pecuHarly fond of the latter, but they 
formerly used a great deal of other milk, whey, and broth. 

The infusion of herbs in the formation of cordials must have been 
practised in the most early ages, and it is to be noted that the Gaelic 
lusadh, drinking, is derived from lus, an herb, or plant. Boece says the 
old Scots were moderate drinkers, using chiefly infusions or mixtures 
of thyme, mint, anise, &c. 

The Celtiberi, at their festivals, had a certain liquor in the composi- 
tion of which no fewer than five score different herbs were employed, 
but no one appeared to know precisely the particular ingredients of 
this famous wassail, although every one understood that it required 
one hundred articles, if properly prepared, as its name implied. This 
name has not been preserved, but we are told the mixture was esteemed 
the most sweet and wholesome of drinks."!' The people of the Scilly 
Islands are fond of distilling various flowers and herbs, to mix in their 
liquors, and they take special care to gather them at a certain age 
of the moon. J 

The art of making strong liquors seems to be one of the first acquire- 
ments of mankind; in all parts of the world, and in the rudest state 
of society, substances, or mixtures to produce intoxication have been 
discovered. Before wine became known to the Gauls they appropriated 
much of their corn for the production of an excellent beverage. The 
nations of Western Europe — Gauls, Germans, Celtiberians, and Brit- 
ons made liquors of two sorts from grain steeped in water, which were 
denominated curmi and zythus, answering to the modern ale and beer.^ 
Schcspflin thinks zythus was the British cider, j] in which he is evident- 
ly wrong. The Gaelic suthan, juice, clearly shows its relationship to 
the ancient Celtic term. The Britons, Dioscorides says, drank the 
strong liquor called curmi, a word long retained by the Gael in its 
original acceptation, being the curwi of the Welsh, which is their name for 
ale. 01 elmi, I drink, is the expression of a modern Highlander, IT and 
it is not a little curious, 01 is ale, and el, in ancient German, signified 
water;** from which original term the alica, a drink of the Britons, 
apparently a sort of gruel or frumenty and other names originated. 
The Highlanders substituted loin, or lain, provisions, for the ancient 

* Lib. i. It seems to be what Perlin calls " force laict." 

1 Pliny, XXV. 8. t Troutbeck. 

§ The Egyptians made a similar liquor. Where vines would not grow, says 
Diodorus, Osiris, or Bacchus, taught the inhabitants to make drink from barley. 
Lib. i. 2. iv. i. In Illyricum, the liquor made from grain was called Sabaia. Marcellinus. 

i| Alsatia illust. p. 64. H Sir J. Foulis, of Cohntoun. 

** Caniiegieteri Diss, de Brittemburgo. 



HEATH ALE. 345 

name of this liquor, not an inapt term for what is in modern times 
called "liquid bread." 

Corma appears to have been zythus made without the addition of 
honey.* MarcelHnus mentions garaus as a drink of the Germans in the 
time of Valens,! and in Spain they used ccslia and ceria, or cervisia, 
which Whitaker tells us signify strong water. The Gauls drank the 
strongest ale with water, and the Celtiberia made it to keep for a con- 
siderable time. J Whether the Caledonians could make malt liquors 
so early as we find them in use by the south Britons, is not known, but 
curmi was drank in the third century, and was common in the sixth. ^ 

The Picts are celebrated for possessing an art whereby they extract- 
ed a delicious drink from the tops and blossoms of heath, which it is 
believed was lost with their supposed extirpation. This is related by 
the national historians, and is preserved in popular tradition throughout 
Scotland ; the story representing the secret as last remaining with a 
father and son, prisoners to Kenneth Mac Alpin, who were urged by 
the promise of liberty and liberal rewards, to impart their valuable 
knowledge to the Scots. The father, after long solicitation, expressed 
himself willing to accede to their proposals, on condition that his son 
should previously be put to death, which request being unsuspectingly 
complied with, the stern Pict told his enemies they might also put him 
to death, for he could never be prevailed on to disclose a secret known 
only to himself The enraged Scots, as may be supposed, speedily 
sacrificed the obstinate captive. Many extensive tracts of Muir are 
observable that are lev^l and free from stones, and they are believed 
to have been the fields cleared by the Picts for the cultivation of the 
heath, which they mowed down when in bloom. This shrub, I have 
been told, may, by a certain process, produce a good spirit, and a 
pleasant liquor is often made in the Highlands chiefly from its flowers, 
but it differs from the ancient beverage, in having the additions of honey 
or sugar with other ingredients, whereas the heather ale of the Picts, it 
is thought, required nothing extraneous to bring it to perfection. In 
the Highlands it was an almost invariable practice, when brewing, to 
put a quantity of the green tops of heath in the mash tub, and when the 
plant is in bloom it adds much to the strength and flavor of the beer. 
The roots, also, will improve its qualities, for they are of a liquorice 
sweetness, but their astringency requires them to be used with caution. 

Herb ale was a favorite " brewst" with the women of olden times. 
An ancient matron, whose grandmother had made it, has often descant- 
ed to me on its excellence, alleging that those who drank heartily of it 
became speckled in the face like a salmon. Being only a child when 
this was observed, she could not say what were the ingredients, but as 
her ancestors were natives of Buchan, where the descendants of the an- 
cient Picts, according to Pinkerton, are to be found, the secret was not, 

* Athenaeus, iv. t Lib. xxvii. i. I Pliny, xiv. 22, xviii. 7. 

§ Scrip. Hist. August, p. 942, ap. Low's History of Scotland. 

44 



94B BREWING— WHISKY. 

perhaps, entirely lost.* I am assured by a native of the Highlands, 
that he could make beer, equal to the best malt liquor, from ingredi- 
ents furnished entirely by the Scotish mountains. 

Perlin describes the Scots as regaling themselves with " bierre, god 
alles, and alles." They were partial to malt liquor, and the old farmers 
used much more of it than their successors, and made it of a superior 
quality. Even the poorer sort brewed their own ale, sometimes using 
no other utensils than a common pot, and pail, or tub. Hops were 
unknown to the old Highlanders, and are not used by many even yet. 
The corr mheill root was, no doubt, an excellent substitute, t but a 
common infusion was wormwood. A curious method of preserving 
yeast was used in the Isles. A rod of oak, which was to be cut before 
the middle of May, from four to eight inches long, and twisted round 
like a wyth, was boiled in the wort, and when dried was kept in a 
bundle of barley straw until wanted for use, when, being steeped in the 
liquor, it produced fermentation. Martin says he saw one that had 
served the purpose no less than thirty years. 

Brewing devolved on the Celtic females, and the Saxons observed 
the same rule; it is only in recent times that the business has been done 
by men, malt liquor being formerly made and sold by the women. 
The " ale wife" was, at one time, synonymous in England with the 
keeper of a " pot house" — in Scotland the appellation is still expressive 
of the landlady of a " change house." A curious old Scots statute 
respecting " wemen wha brewis aill to be sauld," ordains " gif she 
makis evil aill, and is convict thereof, she sail pay an unlaw of aucht 
shillings, or she sail be put upon the cuckstule, and the aill sauld to 
be distribute to the pure folk." 

Dr. Smith thinks the Caledonians had a drink formed by a fermenta- 
tion of parts of the birch tree. It is well known that the birch furnishes 
the strongest and most pleasant of all British wines, but whether the 
old Highlanders knew this I cannot say; few of their descendants are 
aware of it, and, notwithstanding popular belief, there is reason to 
think the opinion that spirits were made of this tree, is not well 
grounded. 

Whisky, so common in Scotland and Ireland, so much esteemed, and 
produced in such excellence, by the Celts of both countries, is well 
known, and the art of making it was probably possessed from an early 
period by the Gael, who have so long been celebrated as distillers of 
the " mountain dew." It is, however, a matter of dispute with antiqua- 
ries whether it be a late invention or of ancient origin. Ware inclines 
to the former opinion, and Pinkerton says it became known perhaps 
three centuries ago. J Uisge-beatha is literally aqua vitae, water of 

• Augsburg beer, so much esteemed in Germany, is said to owe its excellence to 
aven's roots, geum urbanum, that are put into it. 
\ Pennant says a fermented liquor was made of it. 
t Enquiry ii. 144. In 1599 it was a favorite beverage of the Irish. 



WINE. S4T 

life; whisky is a corrupt pronunciation of the first part of the term. 
Trestarig is whisky three times distilled, which is reckoned an excel- 
lent spirit, and uisge beatha haul is four times distilled, of whirh two 
spoonfuls is enough to drink at one time.* Whisky, illicitly distilled, 
is termed in Ireland potteen, and in Scotland pot dhu, that is the small 
pot and the black pot, in allusion to the vessel in which the wash is 
boiled. The superior excellence of small still whisky is believed to be 
owing, in a great measure, to the regular coolness of the pipes, which 
is effected by introducing a small stream of water, which flows through 
the bothy where the spirit is made. 

The Gauls were excessively fond of wine, which their own country 
did not, it is said, in early ages, produce. It is evident from Possidon- 
ius, Strabo, and Martial, that the grape was cultivated by the Celts, but 
they do not appear to have understood how to make wine. The climate 
could not have been an obstacle to its manufacture, for the districts 
famed for the best varieties have long been the northern provinces of 
France. "f The CeUiberians, according to Diodorus, also bought their 
wine, but Pliny mentions a vine called cocolobin, famed for a medicinal 
drink which it afforded. J The berry called fionag, literally wine-berry, is 
produced in great abundance in the mountains of Scotland. It is about 
the size of a Zante currant, of the same color, and equally juicy and 
sweet. It also bears the appellation dearcag fithich, crow-berry, but the 
above is the proper name, and from its being called wine-berry, it is clear 
that wine must, at some period, have been procured from it by the Gael, 
unless we may suppose that that people came immediately from a grape- 
producing country into the Highlands of Scotland, and from the resem- 
blance of the crow-berry to the grape, imposed that name upon it. I 
have no doubt, however, but good wine may be procured from it without 
the addition of sugar. 

The Gauls imported large quantities of wine from other countries, 
and they are represented as drinking it with avidity as soon as they re- 
ceived it. The Roman merchants encouraged an intemperance by 
which they made immense profits, and supplied the Gauls with abun- 
dance of wine, both by the navigable rivers and land carriage. The 
trade was most lucrative ; for so inordinately fond were they at one time 
of this excellent liquor, that they purchased it at any cost, and did not 
hesitate to give a boy in exchange for a hogshead. § They often drank it 
to such excess, that they continued, at times, " wrapped in wild and wan- 
dering cogitations," and even became stark mad ; yet, perceiving these 
strange effects, they began to believe that the use of wine was highly 
improper, and Tully, in pleading for Fonteius, says, they had resolved to 
dilute it with water henceforth, because they thought it poison. |j The 

* Martin. 

t In 1808 there were nearly four millions of acres occupied in vineyards, and there 
are 1400 different wines in that country. 

; Lib. xiv. 2 § Diodorus, v. 1| Amm. Mar. xv. 10. 



348 DRINKING. 

Germans on the Rhine dealt largely in this article, and were equally 
remarkable for their intemperate use of it. They would continue drink- 
ing night and day, and the broils that constantly attended their debauch- 
es, commonly ended in maiming and slaughter. The Gauls in Asdrubal's 
service, having procured a large quantity of wine, made themselves 
'raging drunk, when the army being attacked by the consul Caecilius, 
was, in consequence, completely overthrown.* From the charge of 
debasing themselves in this way, the Nervians must be excluded, as the 
importation of wine into their territories was strictly prohibited. The 
Scythians are stigmatized as very intemperate, and gave rise to the say- 
ing of the Greeks, " let us drink like the Scyths," when they meant to 
indulge themselves immoderately .f A remark of one of their ambassa- 
dors, however, that the thirst of the Parthians increased as they deep- 
ened their potations, J does not countenance the charge of drunkenness. 
A favorite beverage of the rich Gauls was a mixture of wine and water, 
called dercoma; they also put salt, vinegar, and cumin in wine, ingre- 
dients which likewise formed a sauce for fish. Wine appears to have 
been very early known to the Highlanders, from its mention in old 
poems. It was formerly plentiful in Scotland, being chiefly procured 
from France, and was both good and cheap. Before the laws regulat- 
ing the importation of Port affected that part of his Majesty's dominions, 

" the free-born Scotsman stood, 

Old was his mutton and his claret good ; 
Drink Port ! the English legislator cried. 
He drank the poison, and his spirit died."§ 

The vessels out of which the Caledonians drank, were the corn or 
horn, the sliga or shell, and the fuach or cup. Kega&ai, the expression 
of Athenaeus, translated, pour our the drink, is, literally, horn the 
liquor, the horn of animals being apparently the first articles converted 
into drinking-cups. Those used by the Highlanders are sometimes 
mounted with silver, or otherwise ornamented, and are usually formed 
of a portion of the horn, to which the ruder sort have a cork or wooden 
bottom. The chiefs were accustomed to use a whole horn, of large size, 
and richly ornamented, chiefly to be offered to visiters as a mark of res- 
pect, or as a trial of their abilities. It was the object to take off" the 
contents at once; and if this was not done, the remainder in the horn, 
discovered the failure by the noise which it made in the sinuosities, on 
which the company immediately called out, corneigh, the horn cries; 
when the party was obliged to refill it, and drink Celtic, i. e. according 
to the custom of the Celts. |1 At Dunvegan, in Sky, the ancient seat of 
the chiefs of Macleod, is an ox horn of this sort, finely mounted with sil- 
ver, which was borne on the arm, and its mouth being brought over the 
elbow, the contents were drank off". The choicest liquors were served 

* Diod. Fragment, xxxiii. Ritson. t Herod, vi. 84. 

t Pliny xiv. 22. § Home. 

II Foulis, in Trans, of Scots Antiquaries, i. The Hirlas horn of the Welsh appears 
to be a similar article. 



DRINKING. 349 

round in shells, whence the expressions to rejoice in the shell, and feast 
of shells. They were cockles, held with the thumb placed on the hinge 
part, and continued in use by the Highlanders until lately. Whisky 
was filled out in a shell, at Mr. Mac Swein's, in the Isle of Coll, in 
1773.* After the disuse of natural shells, some made of silver were re- 
tained. The Picts appear, from Adomnan, to have had drinking-glasses. 
The Highlanders used wooden cups; but the usual article for ale was 
the maighder, a round vessel, with two handles, as represented in the 
vignette, by which it was carried to the head. The quach, so named 
from cu, round, is formed of different colored pieces of wood, in manner 
of cooper's work, but the staves are joined together by mutual insertions, 
presenting a very pretty appearance, and they are, besides, often hooped 
with silver. Plenty of liquor was of great importance at festivals. With- 
out this adjunct, as an author said of the Irish coshering, it could be no 
feast; the truth of which is proved by the term which the Highlanders 
apply to a great entertainment: they call it curme, the very word by 
which the strong liquor, at first confined to the household of a chief, is 
distinguished. 

The bach-lamhal, or cup-bearer, was a high office among the Gael, 
and, like the steward of the household in Wales, tasted all liquors. The 
smith, among the latter, was entitled to a draught of every sort brought 
to the king's table. The truliad, or butler, who had the custody of the 
king's cellars, was the eleventh person in the royal establishment. When 
a guest sat down at the table of a Highland chief, he was first presented 
with a draught of uisge beatha out of the family cup or shell, and when 
he had finished this cordial, a horn, containing about a quart of ale, was 
given him, and if he was able to finish it, he was esteemed a good fellow, j" 
Riche, in his Irish Hubbub, describes the manner of drinking among 
that people: One standing up and uncovering his head, took a full cup, 
and, with a grave countenance, gave the name of the party whose health 
was to be drank, and he who was pledged, took off his cap, kissed his 
fingers, and bowing himself "in signe of reverent acceptance," the lead- 
er took off his glass, and, turning the bottom up, gave it "a phillip, to 
make it cry twango." The bumpers being refilled, the person whose 
health had been drank repeated the same ceremony, and it went in like 
manner round the whole company, provided there were three uncovered 
until it had made the circuit of the table. 

The love of intoxicating liquors is a vice which people in a low scale 
of civilisation are prone to. The Gauls, who drank sparingly of their 
own beverages, indulged to excess in the produce of the Italian vintage. 
The Highlanders can enjoy a social glass as much as any persons; but 
although whisky is plentiful with them, habitual tippling is extremely 
rare, and there is a proverb which speaks their contempt of those who 
meet for the sake of drinking only. The renowned Fingal, who, by the 
by^ delivered his maxims in Triads, said, that one of the worst things 

* Boswell's Journal of a Tour. * Dr. Mac Pherson. 



350 SNUFF-TAKING. 

which could happen to a man was to drink curmi in the morning. Measg, 
mixture, now pronounced meisg, signifies drunkenness, apparently from 
the stupifying effects of drinking mixed liquors. A gentleman assured 
me that, in the parish of Lairg, in Ross-shire, where he was formerly 
resident, there was but one person addicted to drink; and a native of 
Laggan, Inverness-shire, knew but one individual in that part who was 
accustomed to intoxication: these characters indulged their depraved 
tastes in solitude, for they could find no associates. The Highlanders 
seldom met for a carousal, and when they did assemble they enjoyed 
themselves very heartily, the " lawing," or bill, being paid by a general 
contribution, for which a bonnet was passed around the company. If, 
however, the Highlanders seldom met to drink together, it must be con- 
fessed that when they did "forgather," they were inclined to prolong 
their stay, and would occasionally spend days and nights over the bottle. 
Donald Ross, an old man, full of amusing anecdotes of the gentlemen of 
Sutherland and the neighboring counties, used to dwell with particular 
pleasure on those social treats. The laird of Assynt, on one occasion, 
having come down to Dunrobin, was accosted by the smith of the village, 
when just ready to mount his garron and set off. The smith being an 
old acquaintance, and the laird, like the late Mac Nab, and others of 
true Highland blood, thinking it no derogation from his dignity to ac 
cept the gobh's invitation to take deoch an doras, a draught at the door, 
or stirrup cup, for every glass had its significant appellation, and went 
into the house where the smith called for the largest jar or graybeard 
of whisky, a pitcher that holds perhaps two gallons, meaning, without 
doubt, to show the laird that when they parted, it should not be for want 
of liquor. " Well," says Donald, " they continued to sit and drink, and 
converse on various matters, and the more they talked, the more sub- 
jects for conversation arose, and it was the fourth day before the smith 
thought of his shop, or the laird of Assynt." 

It is customary at meetings of Highland Societies to accompany cer- 
tain toasts with " Celtic honors," that are thus bestowed. The chief 
or chairman, standing up, gives the toast, and with a slight wave of the 
hand, repeats three times, suas e, suas e, suas e, up with it, up with it, 
up with it, the whole company also standing, and joining him in three 
short huzzas. This is repeated, when he then pronounces the word 
nish, now, also three times, with peculiar emphasis, in which he is join- 
ed by the company, who dwell a considerable time on the last cheer. 
As the company sit down, the piper strikes up an appropriate tune. 

Every one knows that the Scots are fond of snuff, and the figure of a 
Highlander is the almost invariable symbol of a snuff-shop. How they 
became so noted for their partiality to " sneeshin " is not easy to deter- 
mine; it is a subject that has hitherto received little attention. There 
is a tradition, that when the Black Watch, now the 42nd regiment, first 
came to London, the men were so constantly calling to supply themselves 
with their favorite powder, that the dealers whose snuff had met with 



TOBACCO AND SNUFF. 351 

their patronage, adopted the figure of a Highlander to indicate their 
business. This may be very correct, but how came the inhabitants of 
the remote Highlands and Isles so speedily to bring into universal use 
an article that had been but recently introduced in England? Sir Wal- 
ter Raleigh first brought tobacco here, about 1586, and we know that, 
like all innovations, it must have been some time before its use became 
common, even in the south; yet, in a poem by Mary Mac Leod, of the 
house of Dunvegan, addressed to John Mac Leod, brother to Sir Nor- 
man, and written about 1600, she thanks him for presenting her with a 
bra thombac, or tobacco mill-stone. 

Now it is not at all probable that the Highlanders could have received 
their knowledge of this plant from the English, or that, in so short a 
time, they would have been, not only reconciled, but proverbially ad- 
dicted to its use. The strong prejudice which the Gael have to inno- 
vation of all kinds, even emanating from a less objectionable quarter 
than the Sassanach, forbids us to believe that their snuff was connect- 
ed with Raleigh's discovery. The root cormheille, or braonan was 
chewed like tobacco by the old Highlanders, and may have been smoked 
or ground to snuff, but whatever the article was, it is certain that the 
Celts were accustomed to smoke, and their pipes have been frequently 
dug up both in Britain and Ireland. They were discovered, in consid- 
erable numbers, under ground, at Brannockstown, in the county of Kil- 
dare, in 1784, and a skeleton, found under an ancient barrow, had a 
pipe actually sticking between its teeth!* Its form is much similar to 
those now in use, only of an oval or egg-shape. Herodotus says, the Scyths 
had certain herbs, which were thrown into the fire, and the smoke being 
inhaled by those sitting around, it affected them as wine did the Greeks. 
Strabo tells us, a certain religious sect among them smoked for recrea- 
tion; and Mela and Solinus"}" plainly describe the smoke as being inhaled 
through tubes. The Highlanders appear to have adopted the tobacco 
introduced by Raleigh from a previous addiction to a native herb of 
similar pungency, and they are said to have formerly grown and prepar- 
ed their own tobacco in a very judicious manner, drying it by the fire, 
and grinding both stem and leaf, making a snuff not unlike what is now 
termed Irish blackguard. They are so partial to snuff, that a supply 
of it is often a sufficient inducement for one to accompany a tr: /eller 
across extensive tracts of mountain or muir. ' The mull, as the neat spi- 
ral horn, represented in the preceding vignette, in which they carry 
their snuflf, is called a constant companion, and they take much pride in 
ornamenting it. They usually carry it in the sporan, or purse, but it 
was formerly stuck before them in the belt, J and the snuff is taken by a 
" pen," either a quill or small spoon of tin, brass, or silver, attached to 
it by a chain of similar metal. The large ram's horn, with its appen- 

* Anthologia Hibernica, i. 352, where there is a print of it. The author picked up 
one, thrown out of a recent excavation at Primrose-hill, near London. 

t C. XV. Brodigan on Tobacco, &c. I Journey through Scotland, 1729. 



352 MEDICAL KNOWLEDGE. 

dages, as represented in the closing vignette, is for the banqueting 
table, and usually lies before the chief, who occasionally passes it to the 
company. This utensil is usually ornamented in a very costly manner 
with silver and precious stones, and sometimes both horns and part of 
the skull are retained. The hammer is to shake the snufF from the 
sides, the rake is to bring it within reach, the spike is to break it if 
pressed together, the hare's foot is to brush away any particles that may 
be dropped, and the pen is to convey the snuff to the nose. I cannot 
vouch for the truth of the assertion, that the large horn was formerly 
carried about the person. 

The art of cookery and practice of medicine were formerly very inti- 
mately connected, and it is, perhaps, to be regretted, that they are now 
disjoined. Mankind, in a rude state of society, entertain a superstitious 
opinion of the healing powers of herbs; but their belief is not, in all cases, 
groundless. When the chief occupations of a people are the pasturage 
of tame and the hunting of wild beasts, or even when they are employed 
in agriculture, the vegetable kingdom, so constantly under their obser- 
vation, is the wide field which nature spreads before them, whence they 
procure the simple remedies that are applied to their diseases and 
their wounds. Their materia medica is confined to roots and plants, and, 
from the experience of ages, they_ acquire a considerable knowledge of 
their sanative properties; the brute creation have even, sometimes, it is 
related, informed mankind of the medicinal virtues of certain plants; a 
crow is said to have led the Gauls to the discovery of the virtues of 
coracion* It is easier to ascertain the properties of vegetables than 
those of minerals. From the vegetable kingdom are still procured many 
valuable specifics, and the most ancient physicians prescribed no other 
remedies than what were derived from herbs.^f 

Untutored savages have been found to possess valuable secrets in the 
science of medicine, where the prescriptions were the natural produce 
of the earth, and administered almost without preparation; but, perhaps, 
the repute which has been, in some cases, attached to the application of 
simples, has arisen as much from their innocuous qualities as from their 
medicinal properties. People ignorant of more active medicines, will 
always esteem remedies which can be administered with safety, if not 
with a decidedly salutary effect. 

The Gauls are represented by the ancients to have attained very old 
age, enjoying peculiarly good health and vigor. The Britons were par- 
ticularly remarkable for their protracted lives. Plutarch says, some 
of them lived one hundred and twenty years, and the inhabitants of 

* Aristotle. 

t Pliny, xxvi. 1, 4. The virtues imputed to these prescriptions were so incredible, 
that, at last, a general skepticism arose, which paved the way for the new practice 
of Asclepiades} that, in its turn, became equally corrupted.— Ibid. The loss of that 
portion of Solomon's wisdom, contained in the treatise on every plant, " from the 
cedar-tree, that is in Lebanon, even unto the hyssop, that springe th out of the wall " 
-s to be regretted equally by the physician and naturalist. 



MEDICAL PROPERTIES OF VARIOUS HERBS. 353 

the Hyperborean Island are said to have lived until they were satiated 
with existence. Their mode of life was, doubtless, conducive to strength 
and longevity, but the Celts were not entirely exempt from disease; yet 
those which were common at Rome, were little known in Gaul or Spain.* 
The glacach, among the Highlanders, is a disease of a consumptive 
nature, affecting the chest and lungs. It is also called the Mac Don- 
ald's disease, because there are particular tribes, of that name, who are 
confidently believed to be able to cure it with their touch, accompanied 
by a certain form of words, means which are quite ineffectual if any fee 
is offered or accepted! From the simple and active lives of these people, 
they were subject to few diseases; and it is only since linen has come into 
general use, that rheumatism is said to have been known. In the large 
county of Sutherland, only one doctor can find sufficient employment. "f 

The practice of physic amongst uncivilized people is always accom- 
panied by religious ceremonies, which have been assigned as the origin 
of all magic and incantations. The Druids were physicians as well as 
ministers of religion, J and, in certain diseases, their interposition with 
the gods was added to their physical applications, for the recovery of 
their patients. Sometimes it was thought necessary even to sacrifice a 
human victim for the removal of some desperate malady. As these 
priests were the chief depositaries of Celtic knowledge, which they pre- 
served as part of their religious profession, it is probable that the other 
classes of the community paid less attention to a study that would have 
infringed on the peculiar privilege of the Druids; but this species of 
knowledge being, in a great measure, the result of experience, it could 
not remain entirely with that class, although the office of administering 
bodily relief may have been conceded to them from a belief in their 
superior sanctity and influence with the Deity. 

In the Gaelic poem of Oithona, we find a chief who had been a diligent 
student of Esculapius: " Can the hand of Gaul heal thee.' "he asks; 
" I have searched for the herbs of the mountains, I have gathered them 
on the secret banks of their streams, my hand has closed the wound of 
the brave. "^ Fingal is celebrated for his cuach fhinn, or medical cup, 
which is yet commemorated in Highland tradition. || Amongst the Cel- 
tic nations, Pliny celebrates the people of Spain as most curious in 
searching after simples; and some herbs, in great repute for their medi- 
cinal virtues, were peculiar to that country. IT One of these was named 
aantabrica, from the territories of the Cantabri, where it grew. Vetton- 
ica, or betony, was not indeed peculiar to Celtiberia, but it received its 

* Pliny, xxvi. 1. A sort of cancerous bubo is described as peculiar to Narbonne, 
which, without being accompanied by pain, carried its victim to the grave in three 
days. Ibid. t Agricultural Report. t Bello Gallico. 

§ This is not, perhaps, a fair proof of the practice of surgery and medicine indepen- 
dent of the Druids ; for tradition asserts, that the kings of Morven had, at this period, 
refused longer submission to that body. || Smith's Gallic Antiquities. 

^ Lib. XXV. 8. 



354 * MEDICAL PROPERTIES 

name from the Vettones, one of the tribes of that country, who probably 
first discovered its salutary properties * 

The miseltoe was esteemed a panacea, and was called by a name 
which signified all-heal. It was particularly celebrated for the cure of 
epilepsy, in which disease it is even yet sometimes applied. "f Its wonder- 
ful properties, which need not be enumerated, were quite lost if it was 
allowed to touch the ground afler being cut down. 

An herb, called britannica, supposed to have been cochlearia, or 
spoon-wort, was celebrated for the cure of paralysis. The name seems 
to point to this country as its original soil; but although it was exported 
to the continent from Britain, Pliny says it was not very plentiful in 
this island, and confesses he does not know why it has received the 
name. J Its properties were first discovered to the Romans in the time 
of Ccesar Germannicus, when the army, having drank the waters of 
a certain fountain in Germany, lost the use of their legs, and were 
otherwise much affected. On this occasion, the natives, who were well 
acquainted with the deleterious quality of the water, and of the value 
of this herb in counteracting its effects, instructed the Romans in its 
application. 

Agaricum, a production resembling a mushroom, grew on most trees 
in Gaul, and was not only prescribed as a medicine, but became an arti- 
cle of export to Rome, where it was much.esteemed as an ingredient in 
confections.^ 

Many very astonishing virtues were imputed to verbenacum or ver- 
vain. It was not applied solely to heal bodily infirmities, but was 
famed for removing mental disorders, having the power effectually 
to recisncile those who were at the deepest enmity, and by merely 
sprinkling the place where a party were to feast, it promoted hilarity 
and a good understanding among the company. These were, indeed, 
estimable qualities, especially as the Gauls are represented to have 
been extremely irritable, and prone to quarrel at their entertainments. 
This plant de^rved the estimation in which it was held, for it was 
besides of much use in divination, and was gathered with the most 
superstitious observances. Those who were employed in the work, com- 
menced their operations by drawing a circle around it, and slipping 
their left hand cautiously from under their cloak, as if afraid of being 
seen, plucked it up by the roots and threw it in the air. They finally 
made an oblation of honey to the earth, as an atonement for depriving it 
of so valuable an herb.|| 

The Romans retained the ancient and almost universal veneration 
entertained for verbenacum, imputing to it several wonderful virtues. 
When the heralds went on any embassy, they carried a bunch of it, 
pulled up for the purpose, from which circumstance they derived their 

* Pliny, xiv. 

t Sir John Colbach, in 1720, published a Dissertation on the Miseltoe, where he 
recommends it as a medicine excellent to subdue epilepsj' and all other convulsive dis- 
orders. iLib. XXV. 3, xxvii. § Pliny, xvi, 9. \\ Pliny, xxv. 9. 



OF VARIOUS HERBS 355 

name, Verbenarii.* The Greeks employed vervaine in the worship of 
their gods, and the Eastern magi paid the same regard to it, affirming 
that it possessed many miraculous properties. The Druids, in their 
character of physicians, practised no greater deception than the priests 
of other nations. They knew that this herb really possessed certain 
qualities, which the wisdom of succeeding ages has not disputed, (e. g. 
for headaches, wounds, Stc.,) and if they disguised this knowledge by 
superstitious ceremonies, and pretended miracles, they only displayed 
what the credulous populace, who delight in the marvellous, were great- 
ly pleased with, and thereby taught them to respect and venerate what 
they would not otherwise have valued The shephej-ds in the North of 
France continue to gather vervaine, pronouncing certain words, the 
meaning of which is unknown perhaps even to themselves, and apply it, 
not only for the cure of several complaints, but believe that it can ope- 
rate as a charm. I 

The Gauls seem to have believed that the potency of herbs were 
chiefly imparted by the mysterious ceremonies with which they were 
gathered and applied, an opinion that the Druids would naturally encour- 
age. Those nations appear to have imputed to certain plants very 
wonderful and powerful virtues, and to have considered them as able 
to assist them in battle. Pliny, although sufficiently credulous, justly 
doubts their being able to fortify themselves by such means. " Where 
were those potent herbs among the Cimbri," he asks, "when they were 
so completely routed, that they yelled again .^"J The supernatural pow- 
ers which the Gauls ascribed to their medical applications were certainly 
ridiculous, but the articles which formed the prescriptions, if not effect- 
ual in their operation, were naturally harmless. In general, they pos- 
sessed some good quality, and, compared with the contemptible nostrums 
in credit among the Romans, they were respectable applications. 

The Gael do not appear to have been much tinctured with the belief 
in charm^ that prevailed among other people. Dr. Mac CuUoch found no 
" superstitious remedies" among the people of the Isles, and amongst 
those to be noticed, few will appear to be such as deserve this term. In 
an old Gaelic poem, allusion is made to a ring used as a preservative 
from disease. — " I am astonished, from the virtue of his ring, how he 
should be in pain or torment." Need we be surprised, that "the 
savage Celt," as he is stigmatized, should have believed that this article 
possessed wonderful powers, when we find Sir Christopher Hatton, Lord 
Chancellor to Queen Elizabeth, giving her Majesty a ring to protect 
her from the plague ! ^ The well-attested cure of Lady Baird, of Sauch- 
tenhall, near Edinburgh, by the Lee penny, is on a par with *he 
Chancellor's gift. This valuable penny was borrowed by the town 
of Newcastle, to protect it from the plague, and a bond was granted for 
its safe return. |l In the Diary of El. Ashmore, 1681, we find, "I took 
a good dose of elixir, and hung three spiders about my neck, and they 

"Pliny, x.xii. 2. t M. Latour ap. Phillip's Flora Historica. t x.xvi. 4, 1. 

5 Ellis's Lettersfen English Hist. iii. || Murray's Guide to the Beauties of Scotland 



356 MEDICAL PROPERTIES OF VARIOUS HERBS. 

drove my ague away !" I believe some of the Highlanders still attach 
a deal of importance to unspoken water, which is brought from certain 
parts, and applied without uttering a single word. The veneration 
which the ancient Celtge paid to water, led them to believe in the super- 
natural virtues of particular fountains and streams, in which their 
descendants continued long to bathe, in the faith of a cure, and this 
respect for wells was not relinquished by the Christian Scots ! 

Selago, or hedge hyssop, was reckoned by the ancient Celts excellent 
for all diseases of the eyes, the cure being produced by fumigation. It 
was gathered with singular ceremonies, of the same character as those 
observed in collecting other herbs, the person being clad in a white 
robe, with bare feet, &c.* 

Samolus, which was procured with similar observances, was chiefly 
employed as a preservative of cattle from every disease, but all its virtues 
seemed to depend on the due performance of the formalities with which 
it was pulled. Those who were employed in this office were enjoined to 
do it fasting ; they were not on any account to look aside, or turn their 
eyes from the herb, &c.| 

The Celtic nard was valued at Rome as only inferior in quality to the 
Indian, and a pound of it was sold for thirteen denarii, something more 
than eight shillings sterling. It was much used by physicians, and was 
employed in the manufacture of a certain wine, greatly esteemed by the 
Romans, but whether the composition of this beverage was learned from 
the Gauls does not appear. J The nard was plucked up by the roots, 
which were carefully washed; it was then steeped in wine, dried in the 
sun, and made up into little bundles wrapped in paper, for sale.§ 

Exacon, a sort of centaury found in Gaul, was esteemed very useful 
inseveraldistempers.il The virtue of ischsemon, or mylet, in stanching 
blood, was discovered by the Thracians. The scithica, which received 
its name from the Scyths, besides its use among that people, as a pre- 
ventive of hunger and thirst, was applied to the healing of wounds, for 
which it was much esteemed even in Rome. IT 

We know very little of ancient Celtic pharmacy. The juices of herbs 
were usually extracted by bruising or boiling. Sometimes the plants 
were dried in the shade, at other times in the sun, and these operations 
were accompanied with many superstitious and nice observances. The 
leaves, the roots, and the stems of verbenacum, were each carefully 
and separately dried before use in a place shaded from the rays of the 
sun.** The Gauls extracted the juice of hellebore, a poison with which 
they rubbed the points of their arrows, and which had the property of 
making the venison sweet and tender. tl Limeum, called also belenium, 
<vas another poisonous extract, which, besides several other uses, was 
administered with salutary effect in a draught to cattle. 

* Pliny, xxiv. 9. t Ibid. xxiv. 9. t Ibid. xvi. 

§ Ibid. xii. 12. || Ibid. xxv. 6. H Ibid. xxvi. 14, xxvii. 1. 

** Ibid. xxv. 9. ft Aulus Gellius, xvii. 15. Pliny, xxv. 



CELTIC PHYSICIANS. ^57 

Xenicum, also a poison, killed with such celerity, that it was necessa- 
ry for the hunter when he had struck his game, to run up quickly and cut 
the flesh from around the wound, to prevent the matter from spreading. 
An antidote to xenicum was oakbark, or a leaf which they called coracion. 

There can be no doubt but the Celtte were skilled in the treatment of 
wounds, the reduction of fractures, &c. The state of almost constant 
warfare in which they unhappily lived, afforded but too much practice 
to the surgeon. Sir Richard Hoare, in a barrow which he opened, 
near Stonehenge, found a skeleton, the skull of which had a piece, 
about five inches broad, so neatly cut off, that he thought it could 
only have been done by means of a saw. Severe wounds, that must 
have been long healed, are often perceptible on the mouldering remains 
of the Celtic warrior. 

The physician was hereditary, like other professions, and one was 
generally found in the retinue of a chief, where he held a situation of 
some distinction. In Ireland, the surgeon and the priest were placed 
beside each other at table, the chief perhaps considering the person who 
took care of his body on a near equality with him who attended to his 
spiritual welfare, or, it may be more likely, that when the professions 
were separated, the priest was assigned the place which the Druid had 
occupied. 

The kings of Scotland, from the most early period, had physicians in 
their establishment, who enjoyed lands as the reward of their services. 
Amongst the Highlanders, the rights of the physician were secured by 
royal grant. In 1609, King James granted to Fergus Mac Beth the 
office of principal physician of the Isles, with the lands of Ballenabe and 
Tarbet.* The Scots always paid great veneration to the profession, but 
they made it a rule to abstain from physic as much as possible, relying 
much on a system of abstinence for effecting a cure. A mutilated trea- 
tise on physic, and another on anatomy, were in the hands of Dr. Smith; 
and one on medicine, written in the end of the thirteenth, or beginning 
of the fourteenth century, was in possession of the late Mr. Astle. The 
Dr. says, there were in Mull, until lately, a succession of doctors, who 
wrote a chest full of Gaelic MSS., on subjects connected with their 
profession, which were purchased by the Duke of Chandos. 

Their prescriptions were from necessity chiefly confined to simple pre- 
parations of herbs, to which the inhabitants of the Isles and the coasts 
of the mainland added certain sea weeds. A clergyman in the North 
of England writes to Dr. Fosbrooke,! " I have often regretted that our 
village herbalists are fallen so much into disrepute. There are some 
plants have qualities which are disallowed or neglected by botanists; and 
these qualities, brought into action by an old crony, will sometimes cure 
a disease that has been given up by her betters as irremediable." He 
instances a decoction of plantain and salad oil, successfully applied by 

* Mac Farlane's MS. Gilcolm is said to signify " son of the physician." 
t Traditions and Recollections. 



358 CELTIC RECIPES. 

these rural doctors for the bite of an adder, &c. A good constitution is 
more in favor of a patient, perhaps, than any power in the application, 
which, if it does not positively assist recovery, it is not likely to check. 
The herbei, or herbary, was a spot in gardens, anciently devoted to the 
rearing of medicinal plants. 

We have a curious account of one of the self-taught Highland doctors 
in the work of Martin, who wrote 125 years ago, and attests the cure of 
a gentlewoman of his acquaintance, who was believed to be within but a 
few hours of her last, by this person, who applied only a simple plant. 
Neil Beaton was a native of Sky, and his renown was not only spread 
over the Islands, but extended far and wide throughout the Western 
parts of the mainland. He extracted the juices of roots and plants by 
a process peculiar to himself, at little or no charge, and had so nice a 
discernment, that he could discover their nature by the color of the 
flower. He treated medical works with contempt, from observing that 
their methods had often failed when his had succeeded. Martin says 
he examined him, and, with great simplicity, declares his belief that he 
worked by no supernatural assistance, but formed his system of treat- 
ment chiefly from a consideration of the constitution of his patient.* 
In Ireland, the O'Calinanes were so very famous for their skill, that it 
gave rise to a proverb. In that country, willow herb, lythrum sali- 
caria, is a celebrated medical plant. 

A few recipes of acknowledged efficacy will impart an idea of the 
state of medical science among these people. The tops of nettles, 
chopped small, and mixed with the whites of eggs, applied to the fore- 
head; or erica baccifera, boiled for a little in water, and applied warm 
to the crown of the head, procures sleep. Spirewort, cut very small, 
and applied in the shell of the limpet to the temples, removes toothache. 
A similar application, sufficiently strong to raise a blister, cures sciatica 
and other complaints. The infusion of wild garlic is drank for the 
stone. Fern, mixed with the whites of eggs, dispels bloodshot from 
the eyes. Wild sage, chewed, and put into the ears of cows or 
sheep, certainly restores sight. The broth of a lamb, in which the herb 
shunuish has been boiled, is reckoned good for consumption. The liver 
of a seal, dried, pulverized, and drank with milk or whisky, is a good 
remedy for fluxes. Linarich, a green colored sea weed, is applied to 
the temples and forehead, to dry up defluxions, and for the cure of me- 
grim: it is also applied to burns. I am not sure if the following practice 
was peculiar to the Highlanders. At the birth of a child, the nurse 
look a stick of green ash, and putting one end in the fire, while it was 
burning, she received in a spoon the juice which oozed from the other 
end, which she gave to the infant as its first food.! In the Island of 
Gigay, nettles were used to stanch bleeding, but the most esteemed 
article for this purpose is the bolgabeite, a round sort of fungus, that 

* Western Islands, p. 198 Dr. Mac Culloch says dyspepsia was the prevailing 
disease. i Lightfoot. 



LONGEVITY. 359 

when it dies becomes full of a light powder, of a brownish color, which, 
being exposed to the wind, flies off like smoke. In cases of fracture, a 
poultice of barley meal and white of eggs must be immediately applied; 
the part then surrounded by small splinters of wood, tightly wrapped up, 
and not to be untied for several days. An ointment of St. John's wort, 
bettonica, and golden rod, all cut and mixed in butter or grease, with 
which they cure wounds in general, is then applied, and in this manner 
they treat the most compound fracture with tolerable success. When the 
feet were benumbed, the West Highlanders used to scarify their heels. 
Wlien they were hot and galled with hard walking, they were bathed in 
warm water, wherein red moss had been put. The leaves of alder, applied 
to the feet, when inflamed by travel, was a prescription in other parts. 

A singular but effectual method of inducing perspiration was anciently 
practised by the inhabitants of the Hebudae. A large fire was made on 
the earthen floor, and when it was properly heated, the fire was removed, 
and a heap of straw spread over the place, upon which was poured a 
quantity of water. The patient then lay down upon it, and was quickly 
in a profuse sweat. In more recent times, they adopted another equally 
efficacious means. The patient's shirt was boiled, and put on wet, and as 
warm as could be borne.* To cure jaundice, the patient laid bare his 
back, for the inspection of the doctor, who, without any previous intima- 
tion, gently, but quickly, passed a hot iron along the vertebras. Others 
suddenly dashed a pail of cold water on the naked body. In both cases the 
cure was produced, or attempted, by the fright which the patient receives. 

Having thus described the manner of living among the Highlanders, 
exhibiting the activity and freedom of their lives, and showing the supply 
of food which their situation affords, with the means which they adopt to 
counteract disease or accident, the inference must be, that these people 
are both healthy and long lived. Such, indeed, is the case, most of 
them attaining extreme old age, without sufl^ering from any of the mala- 
dies which are the scourges of the luxurious and inactive. 

Martin, himself a native of the Hebrides, whom it has been found 
necessary so often to quote, in his very curious and particular account 
of these islands, and their inhabitants, mentions several instances of pro- 
tracted existence, some of which came under his own observation. Gil- 
our Mac Grain, an inhabitant of Jurah, he says, kept 180 Christmasses, 
in his own house, and notices a women in Scarba, who reached the 
patriarchal age of 140 years, and a person in South Uist, who had but 
lately died at 1.38. In more recent times we find Flora Mac Donald, 
who died in Lewis in 1810, with full possession of her faculties, at the 
age of 120, and Margaret Innes, who died in Sky in 1814, aged 127. 
In 1817, Hugh Cameron, called Eobhan na Pillie, died at Lawers 
in Braidalban, in his 1 12th year ; and one Elizabeth Murray died at 
Auchenfauld, in Perthshire, when she had reached 116. Peter Gairden, 
who has been before alluded to, a native of Mar, was a sturdy old High- 

* Martin, p. 189. 



360 LONGEVITY. 

lander when he died at the advanced age of 132, This veteran, whose 
portrait has been engraved, continued to wear his native garb, in this 
and other particulars resembling Alexander Campbell, alias Ibherach, 
who lived in Glencalvie, in Ross-shire, and was born in 1699. This 
"ancient of days" died at the age of 117, retaining his vigor of body 
and mind to the last, and enjoying his favorite amusement of roaming 
about the glens. A walk of eleven miles to visit his clergyman was a 
recreation, and shortly before his death he went to Tain, a distance of 
twenty-six miles in one day. He trod with a firm step, and uniformly 
dressed in the kilt and short hose, leaving his breast and neck exposed 
to the blast, however cold. Poor Ibherach, after living so long, was 
indebted for support to the generosity of his friends. About a year 
before his death, in 1816, he received from Lord Ashburton a shilling 
for every year of his life, with something additional for whisky to mois- 
ten his venerable clay, and cheer his spirits in the evening of life. This 
sum outlasted Campbell, and helped his clansfolk to perform the last 
offices with becoming decency and respect to the hoary veteran. In 
August, 1827, John Mac Donald, a native of glen Tinisdale, in Sky, 
died at Edinburgh, aged 107. It was too memorable a circumstance to 
forget, that early one morning he supplied two females, as he supposed, 
with water from a fountain, which individuals were Flora Mac Donald 
and Prince Charles Stewart in disguise. This man was very temperate 
and regular, and never had an hour's illness in his life. On new year's 
day, 1825, he joined in a reel with his sons, grandsons, and great-grand- 
sons. 

The public prints have for many years past occasionally recorded 
the deaths of Highlanders, whose remarkable old age may have entitled 
them to notice, but who obtained a place in the obituary chiefly from 
the circumstance of their having been concerned in the last unfortunate 
struggle, and being supposed at the time the only survivors of those 
engaged in that affair. Successive communications have hitherto proved 
the supposition erroneous, and afforded a proof of the general longevity 
of the Gael. It is represented, that when his Majesty was in Edinburgh, 
John Grant, aged 110, was presented to him as one who had fought 
against the Royal forces in 1745, when, addressing his Sovereign, he 
observed, that although " he might not rank among the oldest friends of 
his throne, he was entitled to say that he was the last of his enemies." 





CHAPTER XII. 

OF THE SHIPPING, COMMERCE, MONEY, AND MANUFACTURES 
OF THE CELTS. 

It has been said that no art is so primitive as navigation, nations in the 
rudest state of existence being found to possess sufficient ingenuity to 
form vessels capable of bearing them on the surface of the waters. The 
Gauls, in the most distant ages, appear to have had ships wherein they 
transported themselves to other countries, as those who, escaping after 
the battle of Thermopylie, passed into Asia.* 

A canoe, formed by hollowing the trunk of a tree, seems the first 
attempt at ship-building. Hannibal, in passing the Rhone, bought all the 
small boats of the natives, a great number being there at the time attend- 
ing the fairs of the sea ; he also, as Polybius informs us, made so 
many vessels of hollow logs of trees, that every man strove to cross the 
river by one for himself. Lord Kames, however, thinks that beams and 
planks were first used in the construction of vessels, an opinion that is 
scarcely tenable. 

The remains of log canoes have been discovered under ground in Scot 
land, evincing a very remote but unknown antiquity. In the Locher 
moss, near Kilblain, one was found that measured eight feet eight inches 
in length, the cavity being six feet seven ; the breadth was two feet, and 

** Pausanias, i. 4. 
46 



362 SHIPS. 

the depth eleven inches : it had evidently been hollowed by fire, and at 
one end were seen the remains of three pegs for the oars or paddles. 
In the same moss, in 1736, another was found which measured seven 
feet in length, and contained a paddle. The Welsh Triads celebrate 
Corfinavvr, a bard, as the first who made a ship for the Cumri, and the 
account which Athenceus gives of the mainmast of King Hiero's great 
ship having been procured from the mountains of Britain is, no doubt, 
equally true.* 

Coit, an obsolete term for a tree, is the name which the Highlanders 
apply to the simple vessel formed of a hollow log. It was also called 
amar, literally a trough, both appellations being in use by the Irish and 
Scots, When Dr. Mac Pherson wrote, about fifty years since, a few 
were still to be seen in some of the Western Isles. We are told by 
Pliny that the German rovers, who formed their boats in this way, made 
them sometimes sufficiently large to carry thirty men.| Long is also 
Gaelic for a ship; and Pryce, in his Cornish British Archceology, says 
it is the British log. 

This first essay at ship-carpentry was succeeded by a frame of wicker, 
covered with hides, a sort of vessel used by the Iberians, J Veneti, &.c. 
They were also used by the British tribes in the most early ages, from 
whom Cfesar learned their manner of construction, and by this means 
conveyed his army across the river Sicoris. Lucan, referring to this 
circumstance, describes them 

" The bending willow into barks they twine, 

Then line the work with spoils of slaughtered kine: 
Such are the floats Venetian fishers know, 
Where in dull marshes stands the settling Po ; 
On such to neighboring Gaul, allured by gain, 
The bolder Britons cross the swelling main." § 

The Saxons also, we learn from Sidonius Appollinaris, crossed to 
Britain in these apparently frail barks, in which our ancestors fear- 
lessly ventured on the most stormy seas. The Britons went a dis- 
tance of six days' sail in them to Mictis, when pursuing the trade in 
tin. Saints Dubslane, Machecu, and Manslunum, left Ireland in one, 
and after having been seven days at sea, they landed in Cornwall, a very 
fortunate voyage, considering that they took neither oars nor sails with 
them. II Saint Cormac also made a voyage from Orkney to lona in a 
similar vessel, but he appears to have had less faith than the others, for 
he provided himself with oars. IT Wicker boats continued in use by the 
inhabitants of Scotland, Ireland, and Wales long after they were able to 
construct vessels of stronger materials. Dr. Mac Pherson says it was 
not above thirty years since such a boat was employed in the Isle of 
Sky. In some parts of Ireland they are still to be found, and in Wales 
they are more common. One Robert Leeth, who made a survey of 

*Campbeirs History of the Admirals. t Lib. xvi. 40. | Strabo. Virgil 

§ Lib. iv. V. 130. || Rlarianus Scotus. H Adomuan 



CURACHS. 363 

Ireland in 1572, states, in his expenses, " item for a lethere boat, with 
three men and a gyde, to serche the said greate ryvere of Mayore."* 

The GaeHc name for this boat is curach — in Cumraeg, it is called 
cwm, and corracle. The Spanish euro, applied to small vessels used 
on rivers, is evidently a relic of the primitive language. In this wide 
spread tongue, bare, which Pelletier acknowledges to be genuine Cel- 
tic, "j" is a genera! name for shipping, and is to be found, with little alter- 
ation, in most European languages. In the English, Armoric, French, 
German, Swedish, and Danish, the sound is similar — the Dutch have 
boork, and the Spanish have barca. 

The curachs must have been strongly built, and often of a large size: 
there is a tradition that the one in which Columba made his voyages was 
forty-feet in length, but from its dimensions preserved in an earthern 
mound at lona, it appears to have been sixty-four feet. The curach, in 
which the above three holy men performed their voyage, was composed 
of 3| ox hides. J One of the heroes of Morven, in Dr. Smith's Gallic 
Antiquities, says, " my father wove a bare of the branches of trees." 
It is well known that the British tribes excelled in the formation of wick- 
er work. The modern corracles in Carmarthenshire are only five feet 
and a half long, by four broad, forming an oval shape. ^ The hides are 
pitched, and they are furnished with a seat, the men being accustomed 
to paddle with one hand, and fish witii the other; they are so small and 
slight, that, when brought ashore, the owners carry them home on their 
backs. 

It appears from Eumenius and Caesar, that, on the descent of the lat- 
ter, the South Britons had not one vessel of war,|| their shipping con- 
sisting solely, according to antiquaries, of the small skin covered boats, 
the reason of which appears to be that their navy was lost in the defeat 
of the Veneti, to whose assistance it had been sent; and to encourage 
the subdued tribes to improve their navy, the Romans held out consider- 
able advantages. Certain rewards were ofl^ered to those who would fit 
out vessels capable of containing 10,000 modii of corn. IT Although it 
is, perhaps, impossible to ascertain when the Britons acquired the art 
of building vessels of timber, it must have been known very anciently. 
The Caledonians had certainly numerous fleets in distant ages, and it 
is evident that they were not all curachs. The long and perilous voya- 
ges which they made to Scandinavia and other parts, are celebrated in 
bardic lore. Their skill and dexterity in working their vessels, and the 
intrepidity with which they encountered the storms of a Northern ocean, 
are celebrated in a description so striking, that it is to be regretted the 
translator of Ossian did not meet with the poem. Those adventurous 
warriors, like the Ligurians described by Diodorus, made long voya- 
ges in their skiffs, daring the most tempestuous seas, and guiding their 

* MS. in Brit. Mus. t Diet, de la Langue Bretonne. t Mathaaus Westmon. 

§ Tour in Wales, 1775. || Paneg. ii. Huet du Commerce. 

It Cod. Theod. v. 1. 13. Campbell, in his Naval History, however, says, the Romans 
eoniincd them to the use of the curach. 



364 BIORLINS.— SHIPS OF THE CALEDONIANS. 

course by the reul;* yet some of their vessels must have been stoutly 
built, and of a goodly size. The Gaelic biorlin, the term for a ship or 
boat, is said, by some etymologists, learned in that language, to signify 
the deep or still water log, showing its original application to a rude 
float; but it appears, with much more reason, to be a corruption of bar- 
lin, the top of the waters, and in some parts the word is still so pronounced. 
We know less of the form of these ships, and the manner in which they 
were built, than of those used by some nations on the continent, a de- 
scription of which may not be uninteresting or unconnected with the 
subject. The ships of the Suiones were so built, that either end became 
the prow as circumstances might require, and they were consequently im- 
pelled in any direction without the trouble of being put about. They had 
no sails, and the oars were not fixed, but the rowers plied in all parts of 
the ship, changing their position from place to place as they were led to 
alter their course. "f The Veneti, we learn from Ccesar, had a great navy, 
and excelled in nautical science; their ships, with which the Roman 
fleet had an engagement, this accomplished writer considered superior 
to his own galleys. They were entirely formed of oak, very strongly 
put together, their bottoms were flat for the purpose of clearing shallows, 
and the prow and stern were high to resist the waves. The benches of 
the rowers were a foot in width, and were fixed with inch-thick iron bolts. 
The cables were of iron chain, and the sails were of skins and of soft 
leather.J The Gauls, in general, however, manufactured canvass for 
sails. § Stones, sand-bags, &.c. were first used for anchors; they were 
afterwards made of wood, and the invention of the double flue is ascrib- 
ed to Anacharsis, the celebrated Scyth.|| From the figures on ancient 
monuments in the West Isles, and a sculpture at lona, the prow and stern 
of the Caledonian ships were equally high. A single mast placed midship 
sustained a square sail, as represented in the vignette at the commence- 
ment of this chapter, IT and the flag was borne on a mast fixed at the prow. 
The cordage was formed of thongs. There were anciently a number 
of galleys, of twenty oars, in the Hebrides, the service for many lands 
being to provide and ^naintain a certain number; hence the longfad, or 
lymphad, in the arms of the Campbells and others. In the twelfth cen- 
tury, Somerled's fleet amounted to fifty-three sail, but they were after- 
wards augmented to 160, which enabled him to shake off" the Danish 
yoke, and contend with Malcolm IV. 

Hailes relates, on the authority of Mathew of Westminster, that, in 
1249, a large vessel was built at Inverness. The ship that was discov- 
ered in the ancient bed of the river Rother, and exhibited in London some 
years ago, is believed to have been one of those used by the Saxon 

* Guiding star, from ruith, course, and iul, star, 
t Tac. de Mor. Germ. t Bello Gall. iii. 8, 13. 

§ See page 182. Some of the vessels on the Po had sails of rushes.— Pliny. The 
Spaniards made cables and other tackling of genista, or broom. — Ibid. xix. 2. 
II Beloe on Herod. 
^ The distant vessel is modern, but the anachronism will be pardoned. 



SHIPS OF THE CALEDONIANS. 365 

rovers. This singular hulk was cHnker-built, long and narrow, in the 
form of a barge or canal boat, and was caulked with a vegetable substance 
said to be moss. We find that the people of Picardy bruised certain 
reeds, with which they filled the seams of their vessels, and for this pur- 
pose it had no equal.* 

In a manuscript account of Dumfriesshire, written more than a century 
ago, is an account of a ship, or part of one, dug up at Stranraer, in a 
place to which the tide had long ceased to flow; nay, the remains lay 
under a spot of ground that, from time immemorial, had been a cabbage- 
garden. In this instance, the planks were fastened with copper nails, 
in a manner very different from that in use now, or at the period of the 
discovery. I As the greater part of this vessel, which appears to have 
been of a considerable size, remains undisturbed, it is to be hoped that 
an opportunity may hereafter occur of making more accurate observa- 
tions. 

As there was an incentive to battle among the Highlanders, there 
was also an incentive to seamen, or stimulating address to the crews of 
the Biorlins. J One of these curious poems, the composition of Alexan- 
der Mac Donald, and recited to animate the crew of the Lord of Clan 
Ronald, is a work of considerable merit, and an analysis and a few quota- 
tions, for which I am indebted to a literary friend, whose favors I have 
before had to acknowledge, will show its character. 

It commences with a benediction thus: — " Now the ship of Clan Ron- 
ald is launched, I fervently implore God's blessing upon her, on the 
chief, and on his crew; a crew unmatched in bravery and courage: And, 
O God! render thou the breath of the sky propitious, that it may urge us 
over the waters uninjured to a safe haven. Almighty Father, who hast, 
by thy word, called forth from nought the ocean and the winds, bless 
our lank bark, and our stout heroes all, and take them under thy pro- 
tecting power. Do thou, O Son! bless our anchor, our sails, our 
shrouds, and our helm, our tackling, yard, blocks, and mast, and be our 
pilot o'er the waves! Our stays and haulyards keep sound. Preserve 
us from all dangers free. Let the Holy Ghost be around us, who knows 
every harbor under the sun. We submit ourselves to his protection." 

The benediction on their arms then follows: — "May God bless our 
swords — our keen, blue, Spanish blades, our heavy coats of mail, proof 
against the soft edge of an ill-tempered weapon, our cuirasses and bossy 
shields. Bless all our armour, offensive and defensive; the bows of bright 
and polished yew, that we bravely bend in the strife; our birchin arrows, 
that will not splinter, and the badger's rough spoil that contains them; 
and whatever other warlike stores are now on board of Mac Donald's 
bark."§ 

* Pliny, xvi. 36. t Trans, of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland, 1828, p. 52. 

I Called Prosnachadh fairge. 

§ The Gaelic liturgy, composed by John Kerswell, afterwards Bishop of Argyle, 
1566, contains the form of blessing a ship when going to sea. The steersman says, 
" Let us bless our ship," the crew responding " God, the Father, bless her '" Repeating 



366 PROSNACHADH FAIRGE. 

Addressing the crew, the bard says: — " Be not deterred by womanish 
softness from acting hke the hardy and the bold. As long as the sidea 
of our biorlin are unrent, as long as four boards of her keep together, as 
long as she can swim under your feet, be not appalled by the angry 
ocean. The pride of the sea will submit to the brave. If thy foe on 
land finds thy courage increase with thy danger, he will the more readily 
yield. 'T is even so with the great deep; its fury will yield to the 
efforts of the fearless and the bold." 

Address to the Rowers, or the Prosnachadh Uimrai: — "That you 
may urge on the long, dark, brown vessel, man the tough, long, polish- 
ed oars; keep time, strike quick, and deeply wound the heaving billows, 
and make the surges fly like sparkling showers of living flame. Send 
her, swift as an eagle, o'er the deep vales and mountains of the sea. 
O, stretch, bend, and pull the straight sons of the forest! And see how 
the stout conquerors of the ocean bend their muscular forms like one 
man! Behold their hairy, sinewy arms! See how they twist their oars 
in the bosom of the deep! Now the pilot's song inspires them with fresh 
vigor — see how they urge the swift courser of the ocean, snorting o'er 
the fluid plain. Lo! how her prow cuts the roaring waves! Her strong 
sides creak amidst the dark heaving deep, while the sons of the forest, 
wielded by the strong arms of the crew, impel her against the storm. 
These are the fearless, unwearied, unbending rowers, whose oars can 
shut the very throat of the whirpool."* 

As soon as the sixteen rowers were seated at their oars, and ready 
to row the vessel into the fair wind, Galium Garbh, Mac Ronald of 
the ocean, the fore oar's-man, sung the loram, which consists of fifteen 
stanzas. 

Having got into the fair wind, they hoist their sails, and Clan Ronald 
orders his officers to appoint every man to his station, the bard address- 
ing each separately respecting his particular duty, in which great nautical 
knowledge is displayed. The steersman is first addressed; next the 
man who manages the main sheet, then he at the jib sheet, then the pilot, 
then a person who is called Fear Calpa na Tairne, then the describer 
of the waters, or the man on the outlook, and next the thrower out of 
the water. There were also two who assisted in a storm or when need- 
ful, and four who were in reserve, lest any of the others should be 
disabled, or, as the bard expresses it, "lest the sea in its fury should 
pull any of them overboard." 

Every thing being now prepared, and every man at his post, they set 
sail at sunrise from Lochainart, in South Uist, on St. Bridget's day, and 

his request they rejoin, " Jesus Christ bless her !" and, to the same observation, the 
third time, " The Holy Ghost bless her !" The steersman then asks them what they 
fear, if God, the Father, be with them, &c.; to which they reply, " We do not fear any 
thing." They did not, however, altogether rely on the assistance of the Trinity, for 
they were careful to suspend a he-goat from the mast to insure a favorable wind. 

* Probably alluding to the Coire bhreacain, a remarkable whirpool between the Isles 
of Jurah and Scarba. 



SHIP BUILDING.— ORIGIN OF MONEY. 367 

the voyage, which proved rough, is described in the most picturesque 
and poetic strains. They had scarcely " stretched the well-shaped yards 
to the tall masts of sound red pine, and fastened the sails and rigging 
through loops of iron," than a storm arose, and " the awful world of 
waters drew on its rough mantle of thick darkness, swelling into moun 
tains, and sinking into glens; the dreadful monsters of the deep express 
their terror by their terrible bellowing and roaring. By the agitation of 
the waters, and by the blows of our sharp prow, their brains are scatter- 
ed on every wave — the sea is red with the gore of its inhabitants, and 
our ship is damaged by coming in contact with the monsters of the 
ocean. 'T was deafening and maddening to listen to the roaring ©f the 
monsters, and the awful voice of the demons of the deep." As night 
approached, the storm increased, accompanied by thunder and lightning, 
" until the ocean beheld our invincible spirit with admiration, and hush- 
ed his fury into peace. But there was not a mast unbent, yard unsnap- 
ped, or sail unrent. Half her planks were sprung, and all her carcass 
was loosened, and groaned with distress. It was at the cross of the 
Strait of Isla, that the ocean made peace with us, and dismissed this 
host of winds to the upper regions of the air, leaving the waters smooth 
as a polished mirror. We returned thanks to the King of kings for 
having delivered the good Clan Ronald from the fearful death that had 
threatened him. We then laid her mast along the deck, and stretched 
out on each side the smooth polished oars, made from the good red pine, 
cut by Mac Varas, in the Isle of Funen. We rowed with strong arms, 
as if one man moved all the oars, until we came to port near Carrie Fer- 
gus. We cast anchor, took food, and the cup went unsparingly round, 
before we laid ourselves down for rest." 

The art of ship building was brought to great perfection in Scotland, 
and this subject may be concluded with an account of a ship of a re- 
markably large size, built by King James IV., which consumed so much 
timber, that she is said to have wasted the woods of Fife. This vessel 
was one hundred and twenty feet long, and thirty-six feet wide within the 
sides, which are said to have been no less than ten feet thick! " This 
great ship cumbered Scotland to get her to sea." She was provided 
with 300 mariners, 120 artillerymen, and 1,000 men of war, and cost 
£30,000. " If any man," says Fitscottie, "believe that this description 
be not of verity, let him pass to the gate of Tillibardine, and there afore 
the same, ye will see the length and breadth of her, planted with haw- 
thorn by the wright who helped to make her."* 

Before the precious metals are adopted as the medium of exchange, 
commercial transactions are simply the barter of different commodities. 
Cattle is the property which most uncivilized people possess, and which 
they can part with to others, and it consequently becomes a standard of 
value among primitive nations. The armor of Diomede, Homer tells us, 
cost only nine oxen, while that of Glaucus cost a hundred. From this 

* (Chronicles, p. 108, fol. ed. 



368 COIN OF THE BRITONS. 

commodity, which regulated the traffic and mdicated the wealth of the 
Celts until a late period, is derived the name which the Romans gave to 
their coined money. Pecunia is deduced by Varro from pecus, a flock, 
pointing to the time when domestic animals were the only means by 
which all other necessaries were procured. The inconvenience of this 
sort of traffic becoming much felt on the advance of civilisation, it natu- 
rally led to the adoption of precious metal, as a more convenient article 
to exchange for whatever might be wanted. Gold, silver, brass, and 
iron, are therefore adopted as money, and are bought and sold in a 
state of roughness, by weight. The system of trading by the exchange 
of commodities may, however, continue long among a rude people. The 
inhabitants of the Silures, or rather Cassiterides, we are told, adhered 
to their old customs, and refused to buy or sell for money, continuing 
the primitive method of exchange. It was for the convenience of this 
trade of barter that fairs were anciently instituted. In Ireland the) 
were denominated aonachs, and one was held near Wexford, much cel- 
ebrated by the native historians, who assert its existence in an era of 
improbable antiquity. In that country, and in Scotland, the want of 
coined money long rendered an exchange of goods the only means of 
supplying reciprocal wants. 

Tacitus, speaking of the Germans, says, silver and gold the gods 
had denied them, whether in mercy or wrath he could not venture to 
say. They formerly disregarded these metals, although they had silver 
vessels, but when he wrote, the Romans having made them acquainted 
with its use and value, they had learned to receive money. Tacitus 
informs us, that those on the frontiers of Germany placed most value on 
coins that bore the impress of a chariot with two horses, 

" In Britain, I hear," says Cicero, writing to Trebatius, " is neither 
gold nor silver." Iron appears to have been so scarce and valuable, 
that it was adopted for money, and passed by weight. With this and 
copper, the subdued tribes paid the imposts which the Romans exacted.* 
The iron money of the Britons was in the forn> of rings, "f but the de- 
scription has not enabled antiquaries to agree concerning their precise 
shape and size. In Oudendorp's edition of Caesar's works, J it is sup- 
posed that they resembled the money of the Chinese, who perforate 
their coin for the convenience of carrying them on a string, as here 
represented; 





but quantities, amounting to some horse loads of iron pieces, of the other 
form, have been found in Cornwall, that very probably once passed for 
coin.§ In a barrow that was opened in the parish of Kirk-patrick-flem- 
ing, in Dumfriesshire, a stone chest was disco vered, which contained an 

* Huet, Hist, du Commerce, p. 204. t Caesar. Herodian. 

t Vol. i. p. 2'24, ed. 1737. § Lhuyd, in a letter to Mr. Tomkins 



COINS. 369 

urn and several non rings, about the size of a half-crown, and much cor- 
roded. Those singular articles, called Kimmeridge coal money, are 
believed to have been used in place of coin. It is not improbable but 
their appearance would lead to the conclusion that they were rather 
employed in some game, the indentations with which they are marked 
varying in number. At all events they are not perforated like the ring 
money.* 

The rudest of the Britons soon acquired a knowledge of the value of 
more precious metals than iron. In 198 we find Lupus purchasing 
peace of the Meatoe, by paying them a large sum of money, and long 
before this time it would appear, coins and medals, composed of tin and 
lead, rudely formed, were current among the Southern tribes. The 
coins of the Britons bear th^ impression of the heads of their princes, 
with various figures on the reverse, either symbolical, or representing 
articles, the uses of which are now unknown; but the figure of a horse, 
the mystical symbol of Ceredwen or Ceres, as here shown, is frequently 
introduced. 




The British coins usually present the inscription Tascio, concerning 
which there has been so much conjecture. It has, with much appearance 
of reason, been said to be the native appellation of the nobles, being the 
same as the Gaelic toshich, which signifies chief, and hence it meant no 
more than the Rex of modern coin. It is to be noticed, however, that 
tasgaidh, in Gaelic, is the treasury, and taisg, is to hoard or treasure 
up; hence Dr. Pettingal thinks it signified the tascia, the tax or tribute 
paid to the Romans, who, on their establishment, prohibited the native 
princes from coining. In this opinion he seems borne out by others, 
who trace tax from task, and that from tasgia; but Pegge"f" believes it is 
the name of the Mint-master, who was a Gaul. 

It is observable that "not any coin bearing the head of a Welsh 
prince, or which can in any respect be supposed to have issued from the 
mint of a prince of that country, is known to be extant.";}; Ceiniog, or 
denarios, is the only coin that has a name in Welsh. ^ The Gaelic boun 
is applied to coin, and signifies any thing round, and of a portable size, 
whence probably the English bun. The Caledonians had no coins 
for nearly 1000 years after CEesar.|| The Irish appear to have long 

"The opening of the Deveril Barrow by Mr. Miles, contains some observations on 
these articles. t On the coins of Cunobeline. 

t Introdaction to the Beauties of England and Wales, p. 313. 
§ Robarts' Early History of the Cumri. |1 Dr. Mac Pherson. 

47 



370 COMJVIERCE.— RICHES OF THE CELTS. 

remained destitute of money. Campion says there was no coin in 
any great lord's house. The ancient money of Man was formed of 
leather. 

Of the commerce of the Celts, and of the state of the arts, both ne- 
cessary and ornamental, it is proper in this place to take notice. The 
spirit of enterprise which this people displayed, when, after their 
subjugation to the Romans, their manners became altered, and their 
mercantile advantages were discovered, was no less remarkable than 
their warlike propensities. Caesar bears testimony to the industry of 
the Gauls, their ingenuity and success in imitating any thing manu- 
factured by others, and Diodorus, who praises the diligence of the wo- 
men in their household matters and attention to their personal appearance, 
extols the acute understanding and aptitude to learn, so conspicuous 
in the race. They supplied their conquerors with various articles, which 
were found both useful and ornamental in the refined society of Italy; 
and the Romans, who never hesitated to copy the barbarians in any 
thing really worthy of imitation, derived from the Gauls the knowledge 
of many useful inventions. The policy of the Romans, however, ap- 
pears from Tacitus to have restricted the advantages of commerce to 
the Hermandures, and the stern Nervians prohibited the pursuit alto- 
gether, from an apprehension that it was subversive of their pristine 
valor and hardihood, and inimical to their independence. 

The Celts were reputed very affluent,* and their riches consisted of 
gold and cattle, articles easily moved about. "f There were no silver, 
but numerous gold mines in Gaul, and this precious metal was often 
found without the labor of mining, being washed down by the rivers. 
It was so plentiful, that both sexes covered themselves with ornaments 
of it — rings on their fingers, bracelets on their arms and wrists, massy 
chains, pure and beaten, about their necks, and heavy croslets upon 
their breasts. J The better sort were accustomed to scatter great quan- 
tities of gold in their temples and sacred places, on which no one ever 
laid a sacrilegious hand, except the Romans, to whom it is said the 
riches of these fanes offered the great temptation for hostilities. When 
Claudius Csesar rode triumph for the conquest of Britain, he had with 
him a crown of gold weighing nine pounds, presented by Gallia comata.^ 
Spain paid annually 20,000 pounds of gold, and one mine yielded of 
silver 100,000 pounds yearly. || 

The above enumeration of ornaments shows that the Celts not only 
possessed the precious metals in abundance, but were excellent artifi- 
cers. The gold, whether procured from the rivers or by mining, in 
which the Aquitani were particularly skilful, IT was melted in a furnace, 
and subjected to the process of refining, and the articles fabricated were 
finished with great care and ingenuity. 

* Tacitus' Annals, iv. Agrippa asks the Jews if they were " richer than the Gauls." 
t Polybius, ii. t Diodorus. § Plinj) xxxiii. 3. 

II Gibbon, i. c. 7. IT Bello Gall. iii. 22. 



BRITISH EXPORTS.— TIN. 371 

The prevailing use of brass in the formation of weapons of war has 
been noticed. This raetal is sooner discovered and easier wrought than 
iron, and in ancient times it was more valuable than gold. It was a 
favorite metal with the Celts, and was held in particular esteem by the 
Pythagoreans, a sect whose doctrines were analogous to those of the 
Druids. The ancients appear to have been in possession of a method 
of indurating brass by a process now unknown, their alloy being found 
different from that which is at present used. Aristotle assigns to Lydus, 
the Scyth, the invention of the art of melting and tempering brass.* 
The Britons imported this metal, and in smelting it they used a consid- 
erable quantity of lead. In Ireland some weapons were found formed 
of brass, contaimng a proportion of gold. Copper, in its pure state, was 
also a metal in much esteem by the Celts, and was particularly abund- 
ant in Aquitain. 

Lead was procured with difficulty from the mines of Gaul and Iberia, 
but was easily found in Britain, where it was indeed so abundant, that 
there was an express law among the natives, prohibiting more than a 
certain quantity from being dug up. 

Britain, says Strabo and others, produces corn, cattle, gold, silver, 
and iron; besides which were exported wicker work, copper, tin, lime, 
pearls, skins, slaves, and dogs, excelling all others, and much used by 
the Gauls in war. The Romans, we are told, laid no heavy duties on 
British exports or imports. In Strabo 's time they made more of the 
customs, small as they were, than they could raise by the exaction of 
tribute. 

Tin is the metal for the production of which ancient Britain is most 
celebrated. It is erroneously supposed that no other country then pro- 
duced this metal, an opinion which in the second Chapter of this work 
has been proved untenable. It is remarkable that Polybius, speaking 
of the Spanish tin, and alluding to Britain in the same sentence, says 
rtothing of this metal, for which it is said to have acquired so much 
celebrity. The Britons, according to Diodorus, dug the tin in the pro- 
montory of Balerium, or Cornwall, and melted and refined it with much 
care and labor. They beat it into square pieces, like a die, and carried 
it in carts to an island called Ictis, which was only insulated at high 
water; whence the merchants, by whom it was bought, transported it to 
Gaul in boats covered with skins, and carried it on horses' backs to the 
Rhone, a distance of thirty days' journey. 

The Briton, like his continental ancestor, was no doubt long unac- 
quainted with the art of working metals, the knowledge of which is 
forced on barbarians by the necessity of fabricating arms for their pro- 
tection, but it may be presumed that instruments of stone continued in 
occasional use among the Celts after the discovery of so useful an art as 
forging brass or iron, and until these materials became sufficiently plen- 
tiful to admit of general adoption. Arms of brass or copper were more 

* Pliny, vii. 56. 



372 MANUFACTURE OF IRON. 

easily formed than those of iron, of which besides the Britons had but 
little. The uses of this metal, and the art of rendering it malleable, are 
not easily discovered, and it is believed that it was only a short time 
previous to the first arrival of the Romans that mines of iron ore had 
been opened and imperfectly worked, on a very limited scale. 

That the ancient Caledonians were acquainted with the manufacture 
of iron appears from the testimony of historians. " The hundred ham- 
mers of the furnace" are alluded to in a Bardic composition, and a sim- 
ile is drawn from the art — " fire pours from contending arms as a stream 
of metal from the furnace."* The uniform tradition is, that the Gael 
anciently made their own iron, in corroboration of which, heaps of iron 
dross are found in many places among the mountains, that are confidently 
believed to be the remains of their founderies.! Thereis still to be 
seen in Glenturret a shieling, called Renna Cardich, the smith's dwel- 
ling, with the ruins of several houses, and heaps of ashes, with other 
indications of an iron manufactory. Old poems mention it as a work 
where the metal, of which swords and other arms were made some miles 
lower in the valley, was prepared. J In Sutherland also are distinct 
marks of the smelting and working of iron with fires of wood.§ Peats 
were the usual fuel, and they are yet in general use. The smith's fire 
is made of turf, first half burned, and then soaked in water, by which 
process it is hardened and made sufficiently solid to stand the heat to 
which it is subjected. In muirs, deep narrow pits are frequently to be 
seen, where it is said the peats were thus prepared, but the practice at 
present is to dig holes three or four feet deep, in the form of a bowl or 
basin, which are filled with peats that are set fire to, and extinguished 
when sufficiently charred, by being covered with turf Charred peat is 
still used in Germany, and it answers all the purposes of smelting, weld- 
ing, &c. The Rev. Mr. Macqueen, of Kilmuir, describes, from tradi- 
tional record, the famed Luno, the son of Leven, who made the swords 
of Fingal and his heroes, as a wild savage, going on one leg, with a 
staff" in his hand, notwithstanding which he was remarkably fleet, and 
clad in a mantle of black hide, with an apron of similar materials. He 
was no inapt personification of Vulcan. Csesar represents the Gauls 
as perfectly skilled in the manufacture of iron, || but the Celtiberi must 
be allowed to carry the palm in this art. Their method of purifying and 
tempering the iron was by burying it under ground until the weaker and 
less useful part was consumed by rust, when the remainder was found 
much improved both in strength and solidity. Of this they made their 
weapons, and their swords were celebrated even among the Romans, 
for they cut so keenly, that neither shield, helmet, nor bone could with- 
stand them. The worth of Spanish blades has been acknowledged in 
later ages, and they were always preferred by the Highlanders. The 

* Report on the Poems of Ossian, Appendix, p. 245. 

i Agric. Report of Argyle, &c. t Newte's Tour. 

§ Sir Robert Gordon, &c. \\ Lib. vii. 21. 



WORKING IN METAL. 378 

plates and chains of iron with which the Caledonians and Picts ornament- 
ed themselves, satisfactorily prove their knowledge of the manufacture. 

In 1719, a bushel of those implements called celts, each inclosed in a 
mould, were found at Brough, on the Humber; and at Skirlaugh a 
large quantity of celts, spear heads, blades, &c. was found, along with 
several cubes of the same metal, and some masses evidently fitting into 
the neck of the moulds in which the celts were cast. The whole was 
wrapped in coarse strong linen, and inclosed in a case of wood.* On 
Easterly moor, twelve miles northwest of York, in 1735, there were 
found one hundred celts of copper, with some pieces of rough metal and 
much cinders. The colony celebrated in Irish history under the name 
of Danans, carried from Britain a large brass vessel, or caldron. f 

It would appear, from some ancient poems, that the Highlanders had 
metal mirrors.J The reader who is curious, has been referred to works 
containing plates and descriptions of the remarkable variety of ornaments 
in use among the British tribes. The discoveries in Ireland are often 
so singular, that an antiquary is at a loss to determine the era to which 
they belong. Articles of solid gold and silver, and of elegant and unique 
workmanship, are so often found, as to incline us to doubt the truth of 
those accounts which represent the people as formerly in a state of 
barbarity. Among other things crowns of gold are not unusual! These 
relics are often dug from considerable depths, and it seems impossible 
either to account for their numbers, or for their deposition in such places. 
The distractions with which that unhappy island has ever been disturb- 
ed, may have induced the petty kings and nobles in their adversity to 
bury their diadems and other valuables, § but still we are surprised at the 
existence of so many. 

The Irish regal crown was called asion from assian, plates, it being 
composed of folds or ribs. At the Tain bo, an event that occurred eight 
years before Christ, Maud, the queen of Connaught, rode in an open 
chariot, four others being at a distance to keep off the crowd, and pre- 
vent the dust from staining her golden asion. j] It was by his diadem of 
gold, according to Marianus Scotus, that Brian Boroimh was discover- 
ed after the battle of Clontarf. 

Some of the articles which formed the exports of the ancient Britons 
have been noticed in a preceding page. Insignificant as their commerce 
may have been, they nevertheless carried on a regular trade with the 
continent, and the produce of the interior was conveyed in cars along 
the tractvvays that extended throughout the island. The fourteenth 
Triad commemorates Beli as a constructor of roads from the southern 
shores even to the extremity of Caithness, at the same time affording 

* Poulson's Beverlac, p. 5. t Trans, of Highland Society, i. 334. 

^ Keating. O'Conner. Nen. Brit. 

§ Sir Henry RadclifF writes, in 1576, that on a report that all pewter and brass ves- 
sels were to be taken from the Irish, they immediately buried and concealed them. 
II Harris, ed. of Ware. 



874 EXPORTATION OF SKINS.— ART OF TINNING. 

protection to those found on them.* The Watling street, running from 
Chester to Dover, appears to have been called by the Britons, Gwydd 
elin sarn, the road of the Irish. | The trade of slaves seems to have 
been common in Britain; but who the miserable beings disposed of were, 
does not clearly appear, for slavery was unknown among the Celts. 
Some Gauls are indeed said to have been so fond of Roman wine, that 
they bartered children for it, and the Germans sold buffoons as slaves,J 
but the bondmen must have been those captured in war. The Irish re- 
sorted to Bristol for the purchase of slaves. 

The exportation of skins was a branch of commerce in both islands 
from the most remote times, and it is believed that Scotland was long 
unable to part with any thing else. From the abundance of game great 
quantities were formerly disposed of; and in Ireland, at the close of the 
seventeenth century, we find the revenue was chiefly derived from 
hides. § 

In the fabrication of many of the articles described, other implements 
must have been employed. Those formed of stone could only have 
been moulded into shape by patient exertion, but other means must have 
been employed to bring the metal weapons to an edge. The Celts must 
have possessed whetstones, not only to sharpen their swords, daggers, 
spears, scythes, Sic. but the razors with which they shaved the lower 
part of their face. The Romans had long made use, for this purpose, 
of stones procured from the island of Crete and other places which 
could not be used without oil; but about the period of their first visit to 
Britain, they discovered that the Gauls used a sort which they called 
passernices, that they were much superior to the others, could be used 
with water, and were to be procured in Italy. The hones used by the 
Roman barbers were procured in Hispania citeriore, and required only 
to be moistened with spittle. [j British whetstones three inches and up- 
wards in length, some much worn and others apparently unused, have 
been found in various places. They are often discovered in barrows, 
and are sometimes accompanied by those implements, in the manufac- 
ture of which they were necessary. 

The Gauls, who were noted for always having plenty of pots and pans 
for dressing their meat, invented the art of tinning these utensils and all 
others formed of brass and appropriated for domestic purposes; and the 
Bituriges, or people of Bourges, were most celebrated for this work, 
which was commonly called incoctilia.lT It is probable that they cover- 
ed other articles with tin as an ornament. The Romans, who repaid 
nations for the loss of liberty by the encouragement which their luxury 
and voluptuousness gave to the exertion of the manufacturer and artisan, 
could not fail to estimate the value of covering their copper and brazen 
utensils with a substance so innocuous, nor overlook the beauty which 

* Robert's Early Hist, of the Cumri. t Hoveden, p. 432. 

t Amm. Mar. xxix. § State of Ireland, 1673. 

II PUny, xxxvi. 22. IT Ibid, xxxiv. 17. 



FURNITURE AND UTENSILS.— HIGHLAND BEDS. 375 

could, by such a process, be imparted in many different ways. The 
Gauls, on their part, were not insensible to the advantages to be derived 
from a prosecution of the art, and began about half a century after Christ, 
to silver and gild over the harness of horses, and particularly to decorate 
all kinds of chariots in this way. The people of Alise, a town of the 
Mundubii, in Burgundy were the most celebrated artificers in this line, 
and the Roman extravagance led them, in a very short time, to distribute 
their ornaments in the most lavish expenditure. 

It is curious to find that the Gauls were the inventors of soap. Their 
solicitude to preserve the yellow color of their hair, or to deepen its 
tone, led to the invention of an article used in washing their bodies, com- | 
posed "ex sevo et cinere." This was much used in Germany, chiefly 
by the men; it was either solid or liquid, and the best was made of the 
ashes of beech wood and goats' suet.* 

The utensils and furniture of the Celtic dwellings were suited to the 
wants of the hardy inmates, but these articles were not, however, by 
any means so inartificial as might be supposed. Polybius does not lead 
us to think very highly of the acquirements of the Gallic nations who 
lived m Italy, when he says they dwelt in villages without inclosure, 
and had no furniture, but lay on the ground, living also on flesh, and 
making no profession but those of war and tillage, their wealth consist- 
ing of gold and cattle. That the Celts did not sleep on the ground, but 
on beds of grass or straw, he elsewhere informs us, and also says they 
slept on mattrasses.l In this he is borne out by other authors, who af- 
firm that they were the inventors of flock beds, a manufacture which 
they taught the Romans. They were usually made from the refuse of 
the wool after dying; a superior sort was formed of the Cadurcian flax, 
but all the different kinds retained their original Celtic names. J 

The Britons spread the skins which they wore during the day, under 
them at night, and this practice of sleeping on skins continued UHtil very 
lately among the common people of Germany.^ The Celtiberians made 
their mattrasses of the herb genista, a sort of broom, peculiar to that 
country. 

The Highland practice of sleeping on heath nicely put together on 
the ground, with the green tops uppermost, was reckoned very condu- 
cive to health. Reposing on a bed of this sort, " restored the strength 
of the sinews troubled before, and that so evidently, that they who at 
evening go to rest sore and weary, rise in the morning whole and able." 
The Gael, to whom it was matter of indifference whether they reposed 
on the heath as it grew on the hill, or stretched on it when prepared in 
their cottage, were so strongly prejudiced against any thing tending to 
effeminacy, that, according to the chronicle from which the preceding 
quotation is made, " if they travelled to any other country they rejected 
the feather beds and bedding of their host, wrapping themselves in their 
own plaids, and so taking their rest, careful indeed lest that barbarous 

* Pliny, xxviii. 12. t Lib. xi. t Pliny, xix. i. § Cluvenus. 



376 • BRITISH ARTIFICERS. 

delicacy of the mainland, as they term it, should corrupt their natural 
and country hardness." The heather bed was certainly well adapted 
for the camp, both from the expedition with which it could be prepared, 
and the excellence of the materials. Sir John Dalrymple remarks, that 
this mode of preparing their beds, was " an art which, as the beds were 
both soft and dry, preserved their health in the field when other soldiers 
lost theirs."* The Highlanders naturally viewed the introduction of 
luxury and refinement as calculated to sap their independence, and they 
were not long in observing that the members of the Freiceadan dubh, 
or black watch, became less hardy than their other countrymen. What- 
ever may be said as to the ultimate advantage o{ civilizing the Highland- 
ers, it must be allowed that the old chiefs acted wisely in discouraging 
the premature introduction of conveniences and improvements, the want 
of which was not felt, and the adoption of which could only be partial. 
The inconsiderate countenance of innovation could only produce dis- 
comfort and dissatisfaction throughout the Highlands. " The happiness 
of Highlanders," says Sacheveral, the historian of Man, " consists not 
in having much, but in coveting little." Simplicity of life was not con- 
fined to the vassals, but extended to the houses and tables of the great- 
est chiefs, who equalled their retainers in manly qualifications and har- 
diness of frame. O'Neal, who vaunted that he would rather be O'xSeal 
of Ulster than Philip of Spain, sat on a green bank under a bush in his 
greatest majesty."]" 

Adverting to the ancient Celts, Pausanias bears a reluctant testimo- 
ny to their ingenuity, and the avowal of a Greek can be easily appreci- 
ated. Brennus, says he, was not unskilled in the art of war, but, for a 
barbarian, sufficiently acute, and he tells us that his troops constructed 
bridges over the rivers, compelling the nearest inhabitants to rebuild 
them, when they were destroyed by the Greeks. J The Gauls appear to 
have made greater progress in civilisation than the Germans, who longer 
retained their stern and unyielding dispositions. Tacitus dwells with 
pleasure on the docility and capacity of the Britons, who so cheerfully 
received the instructions and followed the precepts of his father-in-law, 
who did not hesitate to declare them superior in intellectual ability to 
the continental Celts. The Briton was, no doubt, at one time in a state 
of cheerless barbarism, ignorant of the arts of the first necessity; but 
his natural ingenuity enabled him rapidly to attain a state of comparative 
civilisation and comfort, not only providing for his own wants, but ex- 
porting his surplus productions to other nations. Their abilities recom- 
mended them to the Emperor Constantius, who, in 296, carried a great 
number of British artificers to the continent, where they were employed 
to adorn his favorite city Autun.§ 

The art of the potter must be known to a people occupied in pastur- 
age, who require vessels to contain the milk of their flocks; but al- 

* Memoirs of Great Britain, pt. ii. p. 53. t Riche, p. 9. 

t Lib. X. c. 20. § Eumenius Paneg. viii. 



EARTHENWARE.— AMBER.— PEARLS. 377 

though the ancient Britons were not unacquainted with the manufacture, 
but certainly made urns and other vessels of forms not inelegant, and 
ornamented sometimes with considerable taste, they appear to have 
been unable to supply themselves without other assistance; earthen- 
ware being one of the commodities they received in their barter with 
others. Perhaps those vessels imported were superior to the native 
workmanship — the sepulchres disclose many varieties of urns and other 
vases. Adomnan says the Picts used vessels of glass for drinking, and 
it is recorded of St. Patrick that he used a chalice of this material. We 
also find that Rederch, king of Strathclyde, possessed gold, precious 
stones, &c. and a cup made by Guielandus, of the town of Sigenius. 
Turgot says of Queen Margaret that she caused the king, Malcolm, in 
1093, to be served in dishes silvered and gilt. The ingeniously-formed 
and prettily-ornamented wooden and horn vessels of the Gael have been 
noticed in a preceding page. 

Saguntum, in Spain, was famous for the manufacture of earthenware 
cups,* but Gauls, Lusitanians, and Celtiberians were accustomed to 
use vessels of wax. | The Celts sometimes used cups made of the skulls 
of their enemies, and ornamented with gold.J The Scyths were also 
accustomed to use these cups, and among the Isedones it was the skulls 
of their relations that were so appropriated. The old Irish are accused 
of a similar practice, but there may be a misapprehension of the term, 
for skull was formerly applied to a drinking cup.^ It seems originally 
to have signified any capacious vessel, and is, in the present day, appli- 
ed by the fishermen in the north to a sort of basket. The Thracians 
used wooden platters and cups of the same materials, and also of horn, 
according to the manner of the Getes.[l In Gaul there were a sort of 
vases for travellers to carry their wine, made of yew tree, which, in Pli- 
ny's time, had lost their repute from the poisonous nature of the wood, 
by which some had lost their lives. IT 

The Britons had some vessels of amber, and it was believed by the 
ancients that it distilled from the trees in Great Britain.** This curious 
substance, which was called glessum,"]^ was gathered in the territories 
of the Suevi, who were the only people who dealt in it, and who carried 
on a considerable trade in it, taking it by the way of Pannonia to Rome. 
The women in the villages around the Po wore collars of it, as a pre- 
ventive of the goitre. JJ Lapis specularis was originally found in Cel- 
tiberia, and formed an article of export to Rome.^^ It appears to have 
been the glass of the ancients, and different from Mica.|l|l 

The British pearls were anciently very famous. The hope of obtain- 

* Pliny, XXXV. 12. t Strabo, p. 107. I Silius, xiii. v. 482. Livy. 

§ Jamieson's Scots' Etymol. Dictionary. || Diod. Fragmenta, xxi. § 4. 

TI Lib. xvi. c. 10. ** Sotacus, in Pliny, xxxvii. 2. 

tt Pliny, xxxvii. 3. The Scyths called it sacrium, as one would say, " ecoulement 
du pays des saces." — Note on ditto, xli. 202. ed. 1783. tt Pliny ut sup. 

§ § Ibid, xxxvi. 22. {|{| Note on Pliny, xii. p. 76, ed. 1782. 

48 



378 ARTICLES OF ORNAMENT 

ing a rich booty of them is said to have been a chief motive for the Ro 
man invasion, and when Caesar returned to Rome, he dedicated a mili- 
tary ornament, embellished with British pearls, to Venus. Tacitus and 
Marcellinus, however, do not speak highly of their value. Pearls are 
found in many rivers in Scotland, but they are said to be more rare than 
formerly. In 1120, Nicholas, an English ecclesiastic writing to the 
Bishop of St. Andrews, begs a number of pearls, particularly four large 
ones, and if the Bishop had them not, he requests him to procure them 
from the king, who had, he knew, an abundant store.* Sir Thomas 
Menzies, of Cults, procured a famous pearl in the water of Kellie, in 
Aberdeenshire, which, having been informed was of great value, he 
went to London and presented it to the king, who rewarded him with 
twelve chaldrons of grain and the customs of Aberdeen for life. I 

The Gauls formed precious stones into ornaments for their persons, 
and even sometimes employed them for hatchets and other implements. 
They were soon taught by their conquerors the value of such articles, 
and when they discovered how advantageously they could dispose of 
such articles, they established a prosperous trade, and began to impose 
on their credulous customers many articles of little value as wonderful 
productions. J The old Highlanders set precious stones in their rings,§ 
and, in treating of their costume, many of their other ornaments have 
been noticed. The most ingenious and beautiful article that has, per- 
haps, ever been discovered in these islands, is that supposed to have 
been the handle of a dagger, richly embellished with innumerable mi- 
nute gold pins, described and engraved in Sir Richard Hoare's splendid 
work on ancient Wiltshire. 

That the Celts, and particularly the Britons, were able to construct 
very ingenious works in carpentry, is evinced by their chariots and 
agricultural implements. On some of the coins of Cunobeline, struck 
between the first and second Roman invasion, seats or chairs, with 
backs, four feet, &c., are distinctly represented. The Irish are said to 
have been anciently much celebrated for their skill in working of wood, 
great quantities of which they exported. 

The Celtic artisans were hereditary, like all other professions. Much 
has been said in favor of and against this system; if it is calculated 
to prevent improvement, which is not apparent, it must be remembered 
that Celtic civilisation was long stationary, and there was no stimulus 
to invention. An Englishman was astonished to find that every employ- 
ment passed by descent, not excepting the Rhimer. " Every profes- 
sion," says Riche of the Irish, "hath his particular decorum — their 
virtue is, they will do nothing but what their fathers have done before 
them." The case was the same with the Scotish Gael. 

* Hailes's Annals, i. 58. 

t Survey of the city of Aberdeen, 1685. This pearl was reported to have been placed 
in the crown. I Plii^yj xxxvii. 11 

§ D. Smith, in Trans. High. Soc. i. 340. 



HIGHLANDS ADAPTED FOR MANUFACTURES. 379 

The Britons were particularly ingenious in the manufacture of osier 
utensils, or basket work, which they executed so neatly, that it became 
an article in much demand at Rome, to which large quantities were ex- 
ported. In a Gaulish monument, discovered at Blois, in 1710, a female 
figure is seated in a chair of wicker or straw plaited,* with a high back, 
similar to those I have seen for sale in Dublin. 

The Highlanders are naturally ingenious, and of a mechanical turn 
of mind. It has been stated that they make their own agricultural and 
other implements; they also carry their simple but useful manufactures 
to fairs for sale, by which they are able to procure those articles which 
their own country does not produce. Besides the exportation of cattle 
and wool, with much kelp, the manufacture of which is a late introduc- 
tion, hames of hair, and sometimes of twisted thongs of raw hides, brak- 
ings, and collars for horses and oxen, made of straw, waights, caises, 
sumacs or fleats, &c; sacks formed of skin, tartan cloth, kersey, blank- 
ets, carpets, and woollen yarn, and the produce of their dairy, are all 
disposed of, and carried occasionally in some quantities out of the coun- 
try. The short wood in the glens is worked into various useful articles, 
and disposed of in the Low country. In the month of August there is a 
timber market held in Aberdeen for several days, which is of ancient 
origin, and to which the Highlanders bring ladders, harrows, tubs, pails, 
and many other articles; those who have nothing else, bringing rods of 
hazle and other young wood, with sackfuls of aitnach or juniper and 
other mountain berries. There is a market somewhat similar in Edin- 
burgh. It seems with reference to this, that a proclamation, 11th of 
August, 1564, commands that in Aberdeen, Banff, Elgin, Inverness, 
Forres, and Nairn, " nane sell timber but in open market." 

The wooden locks of the Highlanders are so ingeniously contrived by 
notches, made at unequal distances, that it is impossible to open them 
but with the wooden key that belongs to them. 

In a former chapter, when treating of costume, the abilities of the 
Highland dyers and weavers were noticed with some attention, and sev- 
eral of the excellent coloring substances produced in the country were 
enumerated. It is matter of much regret that the adaptation of the 
Highlands for the establishment and successful pursuit of manufactures 
is so unaccountably overlooked, for it is evident that they could be car- 
ried on to much national advantage. The Scotish mountains afford an 
abundant supply of various articles, capable of imparting t\tb most beau- 
tiful dyes, and which can be procured without trouble, and at the least 
possible expense. A command of water for any machinery is in most 
places at all times to be found, and the cheapness of living would keep 
wages very low. It is surprising that Highland proprietors have paid 
so little attention to so obvious a means of enriching themselves. With 
how much advantage could the carpet manufacture, for instance, be 
carried on, where the wool is always at hand,, as well as the materials 

* Montf. X. pi. 136. 



380 



SPECIMENS OF EARTHEN WARE. 



for dying it. Mr. Cuthbert Gordon, before mentioned, declared that he 
had made a discovery which would lead to the incalculable benefit of 
Scotland, but as he unfortunately did not meet with sufficient encourage- 
ment to mature his plans, which I believe related to dye stuffs, the val- 
uable secret was never communicated to his countrymen. There can 
be no doubt but that the Highland weavers, who indeed, as it is, occa- 
sionally make carpets of great beauty of design and goodness of fabric, 
if properly encouraged, would soon rival, if not much surpass, the man- 
ufacturers of Kidderminster. 

The vessels represented underneath are selected from various discov- 
eries as specimens of the earthenware manufactures of the ancient Cel- 
tic tribes of Britain, and must be allowed to be not altogether deficient 
either in beauty of form or ornament. That in the centre is the most 
usual form of the funereal urn. 




B^^r 




CHAPTER XIII. 



POETRY AND MUSIC. 

The estimation in which poetry was held by the ancients is well 
known. It is the original vehicle in which the knowledge of past events 
is carried down to posterity, and the medium through which laws are at 
first promulgated. Legislation and religion are at first intimately con- 
nected, and poetry is the excellent auxiliary of both. Hesiod and other 
Greek poets lived ages before Pherecides, who, according to Pliny, was 
the first who wrote in prose, and the compositions of Homer were pre- 
served m detached pieces by oral tradition, long before they were col- 
lected and embodied in the regular form which they now present. 

In the first stages of civilisation the characters of priest and legislator 
are combined, whence arises the connexion of poetry with the first in- 
stitutions of society, for the ministers of religion are both poets and 
musicians, and the service of their gods and precepts of morality are 
equally rendered in verse. Before the era of written record, the Greeks 
preserved their laws in traditionary rhymes, the same word in their lan- 
guage signifying a law and a song.* The statutes of this people continued 

* Walker's Irish Bards, who quotes Wood on the genius of Homer. 



382 ORAL RECORD. 

long to remain in oral record, before it was permitted to reduce them to 
writing. The progress of civilisation softened the reluctance, so strong 
in that enlightened race, especially among the Spartans, to commit to 
the preservation of letters, the laws which were inculcated in popular 
verse, but when inscribed on tablets in the public streets, the poetic 
form was rigidly adhered to. 

This veneration for oral record strongly pervaded the Celtic race, and 
it regulated society among the Gael of Albin, while their ancient insti- 
tutions remained entire. The principle does indeed exist to this day in 
the British kingdom, where the common law of the land is a certain un- 
written but recognised code, emanating according to the opinion of the 
best antiquaries, from the Druidical system of legislation. The well- 
known practice by which the Recorder of London is obliged to make 
his report to the King by word of mouth, is, with every appearance of 
probability, referable to the same institution. 

The chief object aimed at in poetic composition being the assistance 
of recollection, no pains were spared to improve the memory. The Py- 
thagoreans, a sect resembling the Celtic Druids exercised their memory 
with the greatest care and diligence, the first thing they did in the morn- 
ing being to call to mind whatever they had done the preceding day, 
from morn to night, and if time permitted, they were accustomed to re- 
count the actions of the day previous, the third, the fourth, and even 
farther.* In no shape could the traditions of an illiterate people be pre- 
served so effectually as in verse, which in ancient composition was very 
simple, a character applicable to the early poetry of all nations. The 
song of Moses consists of a certain number of words in every sentence, 
an arrangement eminently conducive to the mental retention of the sub- 
ject. « 

The Celtic poetry is remarkably forcible, and from its peculiar con- 
struction is easily remembered, and it was an object of great solicitude 
to teach the rising generations the traditions of their fathers. It was not 
only a national care, but was esteemed a sacred duty in parents to make 
their children perfectly acquainted with the ancient poems. The expres- 
sion of an American chief, in a parallel state of civilisation with the old 
Highlanders, is here applicable: — " While I was yet young, my father 
taught me the traditions and laws of the nation, day by day and night 
by night." Columba is said to have retained the Celtic practice at lona, 
and delivered his precepts in verse; it would even appear that in Ire- 
land, historical relations were not written in prose before the twelfth 
century. f 

The influence of poetry over the nations of antiquity is evinced by 
many signal instances. Tyrtajus, by chanting his verses, so inspirited 
the Lacedemonians, that they turned the tide of prosperity and came off 
victorious. The Celtic bards stimulated their hearers to war, or sub- 
dued them to peace by the mere recitation of their poems. With this 

* Diodorus, Fragmenta. Valesii, vi. § 36, 37. t Walker's Irish Bards. 



INFLUENCE OF POETRY. 383 

race the gift of poesy was highly honored: " the mouths of song" were 
a sacred order. When Ovid, in his banishment, wrote poems in the 
Getic language, the admiring people crowned him with laurel, and con- 
ferred on him many honors and immunities.* 

The ceremonials of Pagan theology were conducted in verse, the 
meaning of the poems being wrapped up in allegory and mysticism. It 
is probable we have not lost much that would have been useful if known, 
from this secrecy, which rather appears to have been intended to keep the 
vulgar in awe than to preserve information of past transactions or know- 
ledge of useful arts, I — the historical records were not concealed from those 
who could study and understand them. The priests of antiquity were 
national historiographers. Josephus' Antiquities of the Jewish nation 
Avere published from the sacred books, and in the stories of Greek and 
Roman theology, relating the adventures of persons, deified in sub- 
sequent times, we have only fragments of vague and traditional, but in 
most cases, if divested of fable, real history. The old poems of the 
Germans, according to Tacitus, were their only registers. The songs 
of the bards are represented as consisting chiefly of hymns to their gods, 
and poems in praise of their ancestors, but in these were contained their 
national annals, for the origin of all nations is connected in their fabu- 
lous history with that of their gods. The Celtic bards were members 
of the priesthood, and no class of society among the ancients have been 
more celebrated. Whether we consider the influence which they pos- 
sessed, their learning or poetic genius, they are one of the most inter- 
esting orders of antiquity, and worthy of our entire admiration. 

The favorite songs of the bards are said to have been those celebra- 
ting the renown of their ancestors. The praises of great men were 
accompanied with a sort of religious feeling. It was not only useful to 
the living to extol the virtues of former heroes as an excitement to their 
imitation, but was reckoned extremely pleasing to the deceased — it was 
indeed thought the means of assisting the spirit to a state of happiness, 
and became consequently a religious duty. But even where this super- 
stition has no influence, an elegy on a deceased friend continues to grat- 
ify the human mind, and the example of virtue seldom fails to inspire 
youth with a generous spirit of emulation. Eginhart celebrates Char- 
lemagne for committing to writing and to memory the songs on the wars 
and heroic virtues of his predecessors, and Asser bestows similar praise 
on the great Alfred. With how much effect the Celtic bards pursued 
the practice of inflaming their hearers with a spirit of freedom is uni- 
versally acknowledged. So influential were they, that national enter- 
prises were directed and controlled by them; and the Roman policy so 
cruelly carried into effect by Suetonius in Anglesea, was imitated by 

* Clark. 

t The Orphic verses are believed to have been the very hymns sung by the initiated 
in the Eleusinian mysteries. " He that has been initiated in the mysteries of Eleusis 
or has read the poems called Orphic, will know what I mean." Pausanias, i. 36. 



384 BARDIC POEMS. 

Edward the First in his sanguinary wars with the Cumri. Even Queen 
Elizabeth thought it necessary to enact some laws to restrain and dis- 
courage the bards both of Ireland and Wales. 

The Bardic compositions, commemorating the worth and exploits of 
heroes who had successively figured in the different states, were a sort 
of national annals which served the double purpose of preserving the 
memory of past transactions, and of stimulating the youth to an imitation 
df their virtuous ancestors. The lives of the upright Celtic statesmen 
and heroes were handed down to posterity, and exhibited as illustrious 
examples for the youth to follow. Their virtues were detailed in verse 
so forcible, and national calamities were portrayed in language so af- 
fecting, that the hearers were excited to the most daring heroism. On 
occasion of an embassy from the Romans to Attila, two bards recitsd to 
him a poem celebrating his victories, and so powerfully were the audi- 
ence affected, that whilst the young men exulted in rapture, the old 
shed tears of regret that their vigor was gone.* The effusions of Ne- 
lan, a bard of Erin, more powerful than the wise council of the Chris- 
tian primate, stimulated to precipitate rebellion Lord Thomas Geraldine, 
in the reign of Henry VIII. The sublime strains in which the virtues 
of the chiefs of Morven are celebrated, continued to animate the Gael 
until the decline of bardism and subversion of their institutions, and they 
still remain, even in translation, specimens of most admirable composi- 
tion. Diodorus informs us, that the bards had power to prevent an en- 
gagement, even when the spears were levelled for immediate action. 
This strong influence was probably increased by their religious charac- 
ter, in which they were able to determine when it was expedient to fight, 
in reference to which, the Irish tell us the shaking " the chain of 
silence" was the signal to prevent or to put a stop to the battle. 

The practice of animating troops by the chanting of heroic poems is 
of most ancient origin. Tyrtteus, the Lacedemonian, who flourished 680 
years before our era, composed five books of war verses, some frag- 
ments of which it is believed yet remain. Tacitus speaks of the old 
poems of the Germans, some of which related to the origin of the people, 
and the collection continued to increase, for it was the duty of the priests 
or bards to commemorate events, to celebrate the virtues and denounce 
the vices of successive heroes. One poem, celebrating the worth of Ar- 
minius, a hero famous for his struggles for freedom, was composed in 
the days of Tacitus.! 

It was not only in actual war, and previous to an engagement, that the 
bards rehearsed their spirit-stirring compositions; each chief was con- 
stantly attended by a number of these poets, who entertained him at his 
meals, and roused his own and his followers' courage by their powerful 
recitations. The liberal manner in which this order was provided for, 
shows how indispensable their services were reckoned, and, in return 
for so much respect, the bards were most assiduous to please their pa- 

* Priscus, quoted in Robertson's Charles V. t Annals. 



BARDIC EDUCATION. * 385 

trons, and blazon their renown. The profession, even in recent times, 
was by no means one of easy acquirement. It was indeed hereditary, 
but a long course of study, and a life of continual practice, were neces- 
sary for proper qualification and due success. In a publication, by 
Cambray, member of the Celtic Academy at Paris, it is said that Dru- 
idic learning comprised 60,000 verses, which those of the first cla.ss 
were obliged to get by heart.* The Irish bard, according to Walker, 
was obliged to study for twelve years, before he was admitted to the or- 
der, the Ollamh, perfecting himself by a probation of three years devot- 
ed to each of the four principal branches of poetry. Campion says they 
spent sixteen or twenty years at their education, and talked Latin like a 
vulgar language. "I have scene them," says he, " where they kept 
schoole, ten in some one chamber, groveling upon couches of straw, 
their bookes at their noses, themselves lying flat postrate." This refers 
to a comparatively late period, but it shows that their acquirements were 
not superficial, and that a common education was by no means sufficient 
for an aspirant to poetical fame."]" When a student was admitted to the 
profession of bardism, he was honored with the degree of ollamh, or 
doctor, and received an honorary cap, called barred. In 192, the law- 
ful price of the clothing of an ollamh, and of an anra, or second poet, 
in Ireland, was fixed at five milch cows. Concovar Mac Nessa, King 
of Ulster, is represented in Irish history as establishing seven grada- 
tions in the order of Fileas,;J; which is said to have originally combined 
in one person the offices of seanachaidh and breitheamh. These were 
the Fochlucan, who was obliged to repeat, if asked, thirty tales; the 
Macfuirmidh, who had to repeat forty; the Doss, who repeated fifty; 
the Canaith, whose name seems derived from canadh, to sing; the Cli, 
the Anstruth, so called from an, good, and sruth, knowing; and lastly 
the Ollamh, who required to store his memory with seven times fifty sto- 
ries. An account of their various duties, real or supposed, may be seen 
in Walker's History of the Bards. The Irish authorities are extremely 
questionable, but it appears from other proofs that the diflferent prov- 
inces of the profession were committed to separate individuals. The 
Scots of both countries had originally their Ferlaoi, or hymnists; the 
Ferdan, who sang the praises of the good and valiant ; and the Sean- 
achaidh, or Seanachies, to whom were submitted the registration of 
events and preservation of family history, but on the declension of the 
system, the offices were often necessarily held by one person. 

The Caledonian bards officiated as a sort of aides-de-camp to the 
chief, communicating his orders to the chieftains and their followers, an 
office that tends to confirm my explanation of the beum sgiath, or strik- 
ing of the shield. When Fingal retires to view the battle, " three bards 
attend to bear his words to the chiefs." Each chief appears to have 

* Mac Arthur's Observations on Ossian's Poems. 

t The last Filean school was kept in Tipperary, in the time of Charles I., by Boethi- 
us Mac Eagan. t Walker's Irish Bards. 

49 



386 BARDIC DUTIES. 

had a favorite or principal bard, similar to the Welsh domestic bard, 
who closely attended the person of his master. The bards animated the 
troops in battle, and amused them by their songs during the hours of 
darkness — " song on song deceived as was wont the night." Nor was 
this part of their duty confined to the field; they solaced their master 
after the fatigues of the day, and composed his mind for rest by their mo- 
ral and entertaining recitations. The bard was an important member 
of the Comhairlich, or counsellors presiding over and directing in his 
professional character their deliberations. " Though it was every man's 
duty to fill the ear of his chief with useful truths, it was more particu- 
larly the duty of the Filea, for to such only do princes lend an ear." 
Some curious particulars of their duties may be found in Ossian. When 
a bard brings a challenge to battle from Torlath, he refused to raise the 
song himself, or listen to the bards of Cuthullin, who had invited him to 
partake of their cheer, but as he withdrew, he sings an extempore poem, 
which, in mystical language, alludes to the slaughter that is to ensue. 
" The meteors of death are there," says he, as he looks towards the hill, 
"the grey watery forms of ghosts." This must be considered a coro- 
nach in anticipation over the Gael, who were to fall, and it is curious 
that Cuthullin's bard joins in it. 

An important part of the bardic duty was, the preservation of the gen- 
ealogies and descent of the chiefs and the tribe, which were solemnly 
repeated at marriages, baptisms, and burials. The last purpose for 
which they were retained by the Highlanders was, to preserve a faithful 
history of their respective clans. 

Lachlan Mac Neil, mhic Laclilan, mhic Neil, mhic Donald, mhic 
Lachlan, mhic Neil more, mhic Lachlan, mhic Donald, of the surname 
of Mac Mhuirich declared,* that according to the best of his knowledge, 
he is the eighteenth in descent from Mhuireach, whose posterity had offi- 
ciated as bards to Clan-Rannald, and that they had, as the salary of their 
office, the farm of Staoiligary, and four pennies of Drimisdale, during 
fifteen generations. That the sixteenth lost the four pennies, but the 
seventeenth retained the farm of Staoiligary for nineteen years. That 
there was a right given to them over these lands as long as there should 
be any of the posterity of Mhuireach to preserve and continue the gene- 
alogy and history of the Mac Donalds, on condition that the bard, fail- 
ing of male issue, should educate his brother's son or representative, in 
order to preserve their title to the lands, and it was in pursuance of this 
custom that his father had been taught to read and write history and 
poetry by Donald Mac Neil, mhic Donald his father's brother. This last 
of the race, who, according to Doctor Mac Pherson, was " a man of 
some letters, and had, like his ancestors, received his education in Ire- 
land, and knew Latin tolerably well,"* was bard, genealogist, and sea- 
nachaidh. 

* Before Roderick Mac Leod, J. P. and in presence of six clergymen and gentlemen 
f Letter to Dr. Blair. 



RESPECT FOR THE BARDS. 387 

From their antiquarian knowledge, the bards were called seanachaidh, 
from scan, old, a title synonymous with the Welsh, arvydd vardd, an offi- 
cer who latterly was of national appointment, and whose heraldic duties 
were recognised by the English College of Arms. They attended at 
the birth, marriage, and death of all persons of high descent, and the 
marwnod, or elegy, which they composed on the latter occasion " was 
required to contain, truly, and at length, the genealogy and descent of 
the deceased from eight immediate ancestors — to notice the several col- 
lateral branches of the family, and to commemorate the surviving wife 
or husband. These he registered in his books, and delivered a true 
copy of them to the heir, &c., and it was produced the day after the 
funeral, when all the principal branches of the family and their friends 
were assembled together in the great hall of the mansion, and then re- 
cited with an audible voice."* He also made a visitation called the 
bard's circuit, once every three years, to all the gentlemens' houses, 
where he registered and corrected their armorial bearings. Many of 
their books still exist, distinguished by the name of the bard or the house 
whose honors it records, and some of their awards of arms are of so late 
a date as 1703. One of the Triads commemorates the three golden 
robed heralds, Caswallon, son of Beli, &c. The bard had a stipend 
paid out of every plough land, and the chief was called " King of the 
Bards." 

Much has been done to restore the order of bards in the Principality, 
or at least to encourage the effusions of Cumraeg poesy and music, and 
many meritorious individuals have met with flattering encouragement. 
I believe the kings of Great Britain have always maintained a Welsh 
minstrel. In the laws of Hwyel Dha, it is said that at an entertainment 
the bard ought to commence singing in praise of God, and then in praise 
of the king, and the fine for insulting him is six cows, and one hundred 
and twenty silver pennies, his value being estimated at one hundred and 
twenty-six cows. He was assigned a place at table suitable to his rank.| 
In the reign of Harald Harfager, the bards, or scalds, sat next to the 
king. The Aois dana of the Gael, mentioned in the end of the seven- 
teenth century, who appear to have been a certain class of bards, sat in 
the sreath or circle, among the chiefs, and took precedence of the 
ollamh or doctor, the title which was bestowed on completion of the bar- 
dic studies. Their persons, houses, and villages, were sacred. J A re- 
spect for the bards continued after the introduction of Christianity, the 
precepts they inculcated being unobjectionable, and the early missiona- 
ries appear to have held them in considerable esteem. Columba had a 
particular regard for them, and actually became their advocate at the 
celebrated council of Drumceat, in 580, mediating successfully between 
those of Ireland and the King who threatened their extirpation, for their 
insolence had become insupportable, and they at last insisted on receiv- 
ing the royal buckle and pin of gold, too audacious a demand to be un- 

* Preface to the History of Cardiganshire. t See p. 337. t Armstrong. 



388 POEMS OF OSSIAN. 

hesitatingly complied with. The honors which were heaped on this body 
made them forget themselves. Their arrogance in Wales arose to such 
a height, that in the time of Griffyth ap Cynan, it was necessary to con- 
trol them from asking the king's horse, greyhound, or hawk. 

No event in the annals of literature has excited so much wonder and 
curiosity as the publication of those ancient Gaelic poems, usually dis- 
tinguished as Ossianic, from the name of that most distinguished of the 
Caledonian bards. To those unacquainted with the state of society in 
the Highlands of Scotland, and lamentable until lately was the igno- 
rance concerning that part of the kingdom, the existence of traditional 
poetry of such antiquity appeared impossible, and skepticism, confirmed 
by the unaccountable reserve of the translator, bestowed on him an 
honor, and imputed to him a merit, of which he was by no means wor- 
thy — that of being the author of the poems in question. Public opinion 
was indeed divided as to the authenticity of Ossian's poems, but the 
general belief at first was, that they were an impudent forgery, and the 
talents of many learned individuals were exerted to expose the impost- 
ure. Their writings, as might be expected, had for some time great 
weight, while the only satisfactory answer to their objections was not 
returned. The regret of the admirers of this sublime bard, and vindica- 
tors of his poems, was at last relieved by the publication of the origin- 
als, by that truly patriotic body the Highland Society. A reference to 
these most interesting relics might be sufficient, but, consistent with the 
design of this work, I shall endeavor to display the manners by which 
their preservation was effected — manners which no longer exist in Eu- 
rope, and which, after a continuance from the earliest dawn of record, 
expired with the system of social government, which received its mortal 
blow in the Act of 1743. 

The history of the Celts, their laws, and usages, were preserved in 
their poems, which were their only registers. It has been shown that 
traditional verse was the only medium by which the early Greeks trans- 
mitted their most important statutes, and the memory of past transactions, 
and that it was by no means a " feeble instrument" is very evident. The 
oral registers of the Germans were ancient in the days of Tacitus, and, 
in spite of the fluctuations and reverses of that people, they were not 
forgotten even in the eighth century. The Lusitani had poems, which 
they maintained were two thousand years old. 

When we consider that the preservation of these national annals was 
entrusted to the Druidical order, and was a point of the utmost public 
solicitude, and when we consider that the vanity of individuals, whose 
own exploits, or those of their ancestors were celebrated, was flattered 
by the record of their fame, we perceive strong motives acting in aid of 
the preservation of these singular historical monuments. It is not to be 
forgotten also, that this personal feeling pervaded the whole nation, for 
if the memory of a chief was consecrated to fame in the impressive strains 
of the bards, his followers, from the ties of consanguinity, felt closely 



POEMS OF OSSIAN. 389 

interested in the glory of their clansman. That the Celts preferred oral 
record to that of writing may be regretted, since to this prejudice the loss 
of much information, which would probably have been highly curious 
and instructive, is to be attributed; but as both the principles and prac- 
tice of the Druids were hostile to literature, we can only pursue the 
investigation of the peculiar system which they chose to follow, and al- 
lowing the above causes their united effect, added to this other powerful 
one, that the chief amusement, both pubUc and private, was the recitation 
of their poems, much of our wonder at the long preservation of bardic 
compositions must cease. 

Many of those who believe it impossible for poems or prose relations 
to be preserved for any length of time without being committed to writ- 
ing, do not advert to the ancient state of society. To instruct the youth 
in the traditional knowledge of their country was then a branch of the 
most careful education, and that knowledge was couched in verse. If 
a novhiate in Druidism spent twenty years in getting by heart the 
knowledge necessary for his profession, some idea may be formed of 
the amount of learning which the sons of the better classes found it ne- 
cessary to acquire. The choicest pieces of ancient poetry have come 
down to us in the same manner as Ossian's productions. The poems of 
Homer were preserved in detached parts, called Rhapsodies, as, the bat- 
tle at the ships, the death of Dolon, &c., long before they assumed their 
present form; and the Athenians found it necessary to offer rewards to 
those who could furnish the most authentic fragments of the Iliad or 
Odyssey, before they were able to produce the works as they now 
appear.* Even since the Christian era, the ability to repeat traditional 
poetry was reckoned a qualification not unbefitting the highest princes. 
Charlemagne is praised for his talents this way, and he had made a 
large collection of most ancient poems, which in barbarous style related 
the actions of the first kings. "j" 

That poems of great antiquity existed at the period when Ossian sung, 
is evident from the frequent allusion he makes to "the songs of old," 
and bards of other years. " Thou shall endure, said the bard of ancient 
days, after the moss of time shall grow in Temora; after the blast of 
years shall roar in Selma."J The Tain-bo, or cattle spoil of Cualgne, 
commemorating an event that occurred 1838 years ago, is believed to 
be the oldest poem in the Gaelic language. The Albanach Duan, a 
poem of the time of Malcolm III., 1056, which is an indisputed relic, 
must have been composed from poems much anterior to its own age, 
and this is admitted by those who have been most noted for their skepti- 
cism as to Celtic literature.^ 

The lengthened discussions on the authenticity of the poems ascribed 
to the Caledonian bard, relieve me, in a great measure, from the task 
of advocating at length their antiquity. "The poems of Ossian," says 
Gibbon, " according to every hypothesis, were composed by a native 

* ^lian. t Eginhart. t Smith's Gallic Antiquities. § Pinkerton, &c 



390 POEMS OF OSSIAN. . 

Caledonian." The era of that Caledonian was the end of the third cen- 
tury. When accounts of Mac Pherson's publication of these poems 
and the controversies which it engendered had reached the Highlands, 
the natives were equally surprised at the doubts concerning their genu- 
ineness, at the scanty collection which had been made, and their imper- 
fect translation. Finding so much interest excited, they were not a 
little displeased that more justice was not done to the memory of their 
venerated poet.* "There is infinitely more," says Mac Donald, of 
Killepheder in his deposition, "to be found among us, than what Mac 
Pherson is said to have translated of the works of Ossian; and that to 
many persons who never saw that man, who never heard of his name, 
and who are totally ignorant of the English language." The Rev. Don- 
ald Mac Leod of Glenelg writes thus to Dr. Blair, in 1764. " Mac 
Pherson took too little time to be able to have collected the whole of 
them; for as the works of Ossian are dispersed all over the Highlands, 
there is not a clan through whose lands you travel, but you will find 
some one of these poems among them, which is not to be met with any 
where else." 

The knowledge of these poems was not confined to the Highlands. 
From the history of King Robert Bruce, written by Barbour, Archdea- 
con of Aberdeen, about 1380, we find that they were well known in the 
Lowlands. In the third book we are informed, that when the Lord of 
Lorn saw that his troops durst not follow the enemy, he was "rychtan- 
gry in his hert," and said 

" methink Marthokys son, 

Rycht as Gaul Mac Morn was won, 

To half fra Finsfal his menzie, 

Rycht swa all hys fra us has he." 

Boethius f calls the King of Morven, concerning whom fabulous sto- 
ries were sung, Fynnan filius Coeli; and Gawin Douglas speaks of Gow 
Mac Morn and Fyn Mac Coul,— 

'• My foir grand syr hecht Fyn Makoull, 
That dang the deil and gart him yowl."| 

Fingal and Ossian are mentioned in Mac Geoghagan's Ireland, 1627. 
A MS. in the British Museum, noticed by Pinkerton, also alludes to 
them;^ and Buchannan, in his History of the Buchannans and other 
clans, mentions " rude rhimes on Fin M'Coel." 

* Ewen Mac Pherson, aged 73, who made a declaration in 1800, that he accompanied 
the translator to several of the Isles, relates the following anecdote of his travelling com- 
panion. Having met with Mac Codrum, a descendant of a race of bards, he asked him, 
" a bheil dad agad air an Fhein ? " This question, it would appear from the incorrect- 
ness or inelegance of the Gaelic, could bear another construction, viz. Are the Fin- 
galians indebted to you .' of which Mac Codrum, being a man of humor, took advan- 
tage, and answered, that " really if they owed him any thing, the bonds and obligations 
were lost, and he believed any attempt to recover them at the present day would be 
unavailing ; " which sally of Mac Codrum's wit offended Mac Pherson, who cut short 
the conversation and proceeded towards Benbecula. 

1 Lib. vii. t Evergreen, p. 259. § Ayscough's Cat. 4817. 



POEMS OF OSSIAN 391 

All this indisputably shows that the poems now before the world were 
formerly well known throughout Scotland and Ireland; and it must be 
declared, that however much we are indebted to Mr. Mac Pherson, the 
obligation must be shared with others; for besides the partial translations 
of Jerome Stone and Mr. Hill, who published portions of these poems 
some time before Mac Pherson, a large collection of them were made 
long previous by Doctor Smith, of Campbelltown, which he afterwards 
gave to the public, under the title of " Gallic Antiquities." This gen- 
tleman was a native of Glenurchy, and heard an old man called Doncha 
rioch Mac Nicol, who was famous for his knowledge of traditional lore, 
repeat many of the Ossianic poems. The Fletchers of Glenforsa were 
also famous for their recitation. Mr. Mac Donald, a priest in Moidart, 
knew a whole poem that had escaped the research of Mac Pherson; and 
" Cath Benedin," the Rev. Donald Mac Leod says, was recovered 
after the collection was published, and he thinks it superior to any of 
the others. A Mr. Mac Diarmid, of Weeni, in Perthshire, got Ossian's 
Addresses to the Sun, as they appear in Carthon and Carricthura about 
1770, from the repetition of an old man in Glenlyon, who had learned 
them in his youth from people in the same glen. It may be here observ 
ed that this beautiful address was particularly pointed out as a glaring 
forgery! 

Captain John Mac Donald, of Thurso, who was formerly of Breakish, 
in Sky, and furnished Mac Pherson with some of the pieces in his col- 
lection, declared at the age of seventy-eight, on the 12th of March, 1805, 
that when a boy of twelve, or fifteen, he could repeat from one to two 
hundred poems, which he learned from an old man of about eighty, who 
used to sing them to his father at night when he went to bed, and in 
spring and winter before he got up. Niel Mac^Mhuireach repeated to 
the Rev. Mr, Mac Niel the whole of the poem of Clan Usnoch, called 
by Mac Pherson, Darthula. Malcolm Mac Pherson, in Portree, Isle 
of Sky, son of Dougal Mac Pherson, who had been tenant in Benfuter, 
in Trotternish, and was an eminent bard, declared on oath before two 
justices of the peace, that his brother, who died in 1780, recited four 
days and four nights to Mac Pherson. 

What has been said, it is hoped, will show that there was nothing to 
render the preservation of poems for so many centuries impossible; nay, 
that under such circumstances they could scarcely be lost, and convince 
the skeptical that such poems have been fortunately saved from oblivion 
and brought down to our times in great purity. 

Nothing has yet been said of Gaelic MSS. which Dr. Johnson and 
many others believed could not be found except of modern date. 

The Highland Society has now in its possession various MS. versions 
of Ossian's poems, of different ages, the oldest of which the late Mr. As- 
tle, keeper of the records in the Tower, a competent judge, pronounced 
to be of the ninth century. This, to be sure, does not reach the period 
when the bard flourished, but it disproves the assertions of those who 



392 POEMS OF OSSIAN. 

maintained that there never were any written poems. I think Dr. Mac 
Pherson speaks very reasonably, when he says, " we have among us 
many ancient MSS. of detached pieces of Ossian's works, and these 
may have been copied from MSS. still more ancient." A tradition is 
noticed by Dr. Smith, that Mac Alpin took down all Ossian's poems as 
he repeated them; and another tradition, which need not be repeated, 
informs us of the cause of their destruction. The Scots, as may be 
seen in another part of the work, were very early acquainted with the 
use of letters, and were distinguished throughout Europe for their 
learning. 

A few of the depositions of those persons examined on the subject will 
prove more satisfactorily that MSS. did exist, and show the means by 
which the interesting and beautiful compositions of the Gaelic bards 
were preserved, more satisfactorily than any argument of mine, while it 
will, at the same time, elucidate the former state of that celebrated 
order. 

Hugh Mac Donald, of Killepheder in South Uist, before-mentioned, 
says, in his testimony as translated, that the last bard of the Mac Don- 
ald family " was John Mac Codrum, who had lands and maintenance 
from Sir James Mac Donald, and from his brother and immediate suc- 
cessor, the late Lord Mac Donald. John Mac Codrum's predecessor 
was Duncan Mac Ruari, who possessed, as bard and by inheritance, 
the lands in the district of Trotternish, in vSky, called Ach na' m'Bard, 
(the bard's field,) and his descendants, as well as the collateral branches 
of his family, are to this very day called Clann 'a Bhaird." He ob- 
serves, that the bards of Clan Rannald held their lands on the express 
condition of transmitting in writing the history and poetry connect- 
ed with the family; and continues, " there is still extant a poem com- 
posed by one of them, Niel Mor Mac Mhuirich, to the Mac Donalds, 
immediately before the battle of Gariach, called the Prosnachadh cath 
Gariach. As a proof of the estimation in which the bards were held, 
I need only mention, that when the chief of the Mac Leods dismiss- 
ed Mac gilli Riabhich, his family bard, Mac Donald received him 
hospitably, and gave him lands on the farm of Kilmorey, in Trotternish, 
which- retain to this day the name of " Baile gilli Riabhich." 

Mac Mhuireach, part of whose testimony is given in p. 386, remem- 
bered well, that works of Ossian, written on parchment, were in the cus- 
tody of his father, as received from his predecessors, some in the form 
of books, and some loose and separate, which contained the works of 
other bards besides those of Ossian. He affirmed that the leabhar 
dearg, or red book, was long in his father's possession, and was receiv- 
ed from his predecessors. It was of paper, and contained a good deal 
of the history of the clans, written by different hands. He remembered 
well that Clan Rannald made his father give up the red book to JaiTies 
Mac Pherson, from Badenach. Several parchments, he believed, were 
taken away by the Rev. Alexander Mac Donald and his son Ronald, 



POEMS OF OSSIAN. 393 

but he saw others cut up by the tailors for measures.* He having no 
longer any lands, and not being taught to read, he set no value on them. 
This declaration he signed before Roderick Mac Leod, J. P., in pres- 
ence of six other clergymen and gentlemen. Dr. Mac Pherson knew 
the last of these bards, who had been in the service of the Lords of the 
Isles before they entered that of Clan Rannald. He was a rnan of 
some letters, understood Latin, and, like his ancestors, received his ed- 
ucation in Leland. He travelled through the country about 1735, and 
read as well as repeated poems from a MS. 

Malcolm Mac Pherson, in Portree, gave to the translator of Ossian 
a 4to. volume about 1| inch thick, containing the works of that bard, 
which he had procured at Loch Carron when an apprentice. Lord 
Kames, in his Sketches of Man, mentions four books of Fingal that Mac 
Pherson got in Sky. Mrs. Fraser, of Culbokie, had a MS. volume of 
Ossian's poems, that was written by Peter Mac Donell, chaplain to 
Lord Mac Donell, of Glengary, about the time of the Restoration, as 
well as others which her son carried to Canada. It is said that Dr. 
Watson, author of the Lives of Fletcher and Gordon, discovered at 
Rome a MS. of these poems, which had been brought away after the 
rebellion in ni5.'\ A MS. once in the Scots' college at Douay, much 
of it written before 1715, by a Mr. Farquharson, contained all the 
pieces given by Mac Pherson, besides many more. Mr. Farquharson 
left another similar collection at Brae-Mar before he went to Douay, 
which was unfortunately destroyed, but he thought it would be easy to 
make another collection. " He was not sensible of the rapid, the in- 
credible, the total change which had taken place in the Highlands of 
Scotland."! " Thirty or forty years back," say the authors of the Re- 
port on the Poems of Ossian, in 1803, " the number of persons who 
could recite tales and poetry, and could write Gaelic, was very much 
greater than at the present time." Since 1745 the amusement of list- 
ening to recitation is scarcely known. 

It was usual for the young women of a baile, or hamlet, which con- 
sisted of from four to twenty families, to carry their work to the houses 
of each other's parents alternately. In these societies oral learning was 
attained without interrupting industry, and the pleasure of instructing 
and receiving knowledge was mutual. The matron, visited on one eve- 
ning, perhaps excelled in genealogy, while another was well versed in 
general history; one may have been an adept at poetry, and another 
an able critic, &c. The Highlander, after his daily occupations, has- 
tened to join the society of the young women, where he met his belov- 
ed, or had the pleasure in her absence, of repeating the last sonnet he 
had composed in her praise, for which he either received applause or 

* The Rev. Angus Mac Niel, of South Uist, said in 1763, that Clan Rannald told 
hiin a volume was carried to Ireland by some worthless person. Ewan Mac Pherson 
attested the delivery of the above volume to the translator, which appears also to have 
been lost. t Literary Journal,!, p. 458. 

i Letter from Bishop Cameron to Sir John Sinclair on the subject. 
60 



394 POEMS OF OSSIAN. 

encountered disapprobation. With us, fools will publish what impartial 
criticism may condemn; but with the Highlanders it was otherwise, 
"what could not be published in the above societies could not be pub- 
lished at all: they were to them what the pres? is to us; a song that was 
learned by a few out of mere compliment to its author was soon forgot- 
ten. It may be readily supposed that local circumstances sometimes 
gave a temporary existence to very indifferent compositions, but their 
popularity being confined to the districts where the subjects of them 
were best known, with those subjects they generally expired. I have 
spoken in the past tense," continues the writer, "because, within a few 
years, the manners of my countrymen have suffered a total revolution, 
very little to the advantage of the present race who are neither so hos- 
pitable, so learned, nor so pious as the generation they have succeed- 
ed."* 

What has been a very great means to preserve the Ossianic poems is 
this, that the greatest number of them have particular tunes to which 
they are sung, the music of which is soft and simple. Duan Dearmot, 
an elegy on the death of a celebrated warrior so called, is held in much 
esteem among the Campbells, who trace their descent from that hero. 
In Lord Rea's country is a tribe of this name, and the following anec- 
dote of an old member is here appropriate. The Rev. Alexander Pope 
having got this veteran to sing the poem, he commenced his performance 
by reverently taking off his bonnet; but, says the writer, " I caused him 
to stop, and would put on his bonnet; he made some excuses; however, 
as soon as he began, he again took off his bonnet. — I rose and put it on — 
he took it off — 1 put it on; at last, as he was like to swear most horribly, 
he would sing no more unless I allowed him to be uncovered. I gave 
him his freedom, and so he sung with great spirit. I then asked him the 
reason : he told me it was out of regard to the memory of that hero. I 
asked him if he thought that the spirit of that hero was present; he said 
not, but thought it well became them who were descended from him to 
honor his memory. ""f" 

Of the music adapted to these poems, a specimen furnished by the 
Rev. John Cameron, of Halkirk, in Caithness, from the recitation of a 
very old man in his parish, is given by Sir John Sinclair, in his excellent 
dissertation prefixed to the Highland Society's edition of Ossian. One 
of superior merit is given in the musical part of this work, and several 
others of undoubted antiquity are noticed. 

That Fingal fought and Ossian sung there can be no rational doubt. 
The names of places all over the Highlands testify the existence of such 
persons, and the manners described in the poems suit no other period in 
history but that of the ancient and unmixed Celts. + When General 

* Notes on the Superstitions of the Highlanders, by Mr. Donald Mac Pherson, 1824. 
t Letter to the Rev. Alexander Nicholson, of Thurao, 17G3. 

t Mr. Rosing, the Danish cons\il, in reply to a letter from Sir John Sinclair, finds 
Ossian's recitals corroborated by Suhne's History of Denmark. 



OSSIANIC POETRY VINDICATED. 395 

Wade, ill the operation of forming the miiitary roads, had to remove 
Clachan Ossian, or the monumental stone of this revered bard, about 
four score indignant Higlilanders, in becoming solemnity, carried off his 
bones, with pipes playing, and deposited them within a circle of large 
stones on the summit of a sequestered rock, in the wilds of western Glen 
Amon, where they are not likely evermore to be disturbed. That the 
Highlanders are disposed to receive any thing alluding to those remote 
times as productions of Ossian is false, and can only be advanced by 
those who know nothing of their poerical judgment; succeeding bards 
followed their great predecessor as a model, but never approached 
the sublimity of "the voice of Cona." Many have studied his works, 
and a most successful imitator was Ailen Mac Ruari. A modern bard 
in Glendochy, in Perthshire, and another in Glendovan, Argyle, after 
laborious attempts to catch the poetic fire of this prince of Celtic poets, 
gave up the pursuit.* The nearest approach was made by M'Intyre, 
whose works display true poetic feeling. The Highlanders can, howev- 
er, detect the true Ossianic from other poetry, by its peculiar excellence, 
simplicity of construction, and grandeur of imagery. There were 
several Ossians in the profession of bardism, who flourished in times 
subsequent, but none ever rivalled their pi-edecessor.t Nor do the 
Highlanders swallow the poetic descriptions as strictly natural. They 
can well discriminate between hyperbole and plain narration, as in the 
instance of Civa dona, where the description is allowed by the most 
enthusiastic to be ideal. In matters of history, Doctor Mac Pherson 
admits that the bardic accounts are not altogether to be depended upon; 
but it is a fact that curious discoveries have been made in consequence 
of songs. Treasure buried for centuries has been recovered, and the 
poem of Cath Gabhra, commemorating the interment of Conan, a king, 
under a stone, inscribed in Ogham characters, the Irish Academy made 
search and found it. 

It has been thought iinpossible for a language to remain unchanged for 
so great a length of tii/ie, and this objection has been urged with much 
vehemence, as an unar.swerable argument against the antiquity of Gaelic 
poetry. In the second Chapter of this work, some of the causes affect- 
ing language are noticed. By these causes, that of the Scotish moun- 
taineers has not been altered in any great degree these 2000 years, but 
hot no change has taken place would be a rash assertion. From the 
publication of the original poems which James Mac Pherson first trans- 
lated, it is manifest, that certain changes have been produced, by the 
introduction of Christianity and the altered state of society; but the 
number of words now obsolete are very few, and, to the studious, may 
be easily understood from etymological solution. A Life of Saint Pat- 
rick, written in verse, in the sixth century, is still perfectly intelligible 

* Smith's Gallic Antiquities. 

t From Colgan's Life of Saint Patrick, we find he had a convert called Ossian, which 
circumstance has led to some confusion. 



396 CELTIC POETRY. 

to an Irishman,* and the Ossianic remains are, with trifling exceptions, 
still understood in the language in which the bard composed them. 

Finally, if the poems of Ossian are an imposture, Mac Pherson is not 
the only one implicated. Smith and others have been equally skilful in 
the deception, and a whole nation have been the abettors of an imposi- 
tion. But no rational being can now, it is believed, entertain any doubt 
that these poems have existed in Highland tradition through successive 
centuries, and been the solace of the aged, and the means of virtuous 
excitement to the young. The bard of Caledonia " is one of the most 
transcendent geniuses that ever adorned the history of poetry, or that 
ever graced the annals of valor and glory— let such as do not like to 
name him Ossian, call him Orpheus: doubts may be entertained whether 
Fingal was his father, but no one will say that he is not the son of 
Apollo."t 

" Upon the construction of the old Celtic poetry we want much infor- 
mation. "J The chief aim of the poet was to compose his pieces in short, 
simple, and forcible sentences or stanzas, so that they might be easily 
learned and retained in the memory, and that they succeeded in their 
object is abundantly proved. The language, from its simplicity, was 
admirably calculated to assist recollection, and the ingenuity of the poets 
added infinitely to the effect. In Mac Pherson's Dissertation on the era 
of Ossian, are these remarks: " Each verse was so connected with those 
which preceded or followed it, that if one line had been remembered in 
a stanza, it was almost impossible to forget the rest. The cadences 
followed in so natural a gradation, and the words were so adapted to the 
common turn of the voice, after it is raised to a certain key, that it was 
almost impossible, from a similarity of sound, to substitute one word for 
another. This excellence is peculiar to the Celtic tongue, and perhaps 
is to be met with in no other language. Nor does this choice of words 
clog the sense or weaken the expression. The numerous flections of 
consonants, and variation in declension, make the language very copi- 
ous." 

The genius of the people, naturally musical and poetical, materially 
assisted in the preservation of oral compositions, and inclined them to 
afford that encouragement to the order of bards which fostered their tal- 
ents, and enabled them to devote the years of probation which the pro- 
fession required, with undivided attention to its duties. The length of 
time which students were obliged to spend in qualifying themselves for 
the dignified station of bard, demonstrates the' importance in which it 
was held. 

Among the ancient Irish, the Fileacht was a mental composition for 
the exercise and improvement of poesy, which took place at stated times. 
This people retained their esteem for the bards, while they preserved 
their primitive manners, and Spenser ceased to wonder at their attach- 

* Dr. Smith. t The Abbe Cesarotti's Dissertation. 

t Pinkerton's Enquiry, ii. 145. 



SYSTEMS OF VERSIFICATION. 397 

ment to old customs when he understood the nature of their poetry, and 
witnessed their respect for the reciters. This writer, an accompHshed 
poet himself, says the native compositions, were " of sweet wit and good 
invention, sprinkled with pretty flowers of their natural device." The 
importance of national poetry, nowhere more influential than among the 
Celts, is acknowledged by those who have most deeply studied the his- 
tory of man. " Songs are more operative than statutes, and it matters 
little who are the legislators of a country compared with the writers of its 
popular ballads." It would appear from Hume and Burnet, that the 
misfortunes of James II, were chiefly owing to the effect of the Irish 
song or ballad called Lilli burlero. 

According to ^lian, Homer's poems were at first detached pieces, 
called Rhapsodies. The rhapsodists of Greece bear a strong resem- 
blance- to the Celtic bards. The name is derived from gaSdo;, a rod or 
branch, and codrj, a song or poem, because the person always held a 
branch of laurel while reciting the poems. The order, like that of the 
bards, having began to abuse the liberty of their profession, the term 
came to be applied contemptuously, and a rhapsody signified a vile 
performance, the meaning which it still retains, although it was orig- 
inally used in quite another sense.* 

The first efforts of the muses in all countries are melancholy themes. 
Ossian never stoops from his subhmity, for wit or levity did not accord 
with his feelings. The Leudus of the Celts was a sort of ode, and the 
term survives in the Gaelic Laoidh, applied to a hymn. Carthon, one 
of the Ossianic poems, is called in the original, Duan na' n laoi, or the 
poem of the hymns, probably from the celebrated address to the sun, 
and Fingal's pathetic "song of mourning," which it contains. 

Dan is the Gaelic name of a song. The bards distinguished those 
compositions in which the narration is often interrupted by odes and 
apostrophes, by the name of Duan, but since the extinction or disuse of 
the order, it has become a general name for all compositions in verse. 
The Duans always finished with the opening words. The bards were 
sometimes styled history men, or tell-talers, and repeated a short argu- 
ment before commencing. This traditional tale, which accompanied a 
ooem, and sometimes has survived it, is called Sgeulachd, and, consider- 
mg that much art was required to reduce the language to measure, they 
may be supposed to have preceded the poetical version. Of the various 
sorts of versification, I confess myself at a loss to form a complete list, 
especially of those in ancient use. In the Irish uiraiceacht na neagir, or 
rules for poets, there are upwards of one hundred different kinds de- 
scribed.! Doctor Molloy assures us that the construction and variety 
of Irish metre is the most difficult he had ever seen or heard of In its 
composition these things are required — number, quartans, number of 

* Larcher, note on Herodotus. 

t Walker's Memoirs of the Irisli Bards, who refers to Vallancey and O'Molloy for 
specimens. 



398 DESCRIPTIONS OF POETRY. 

syllables, concords, correspondence, termination, union, and caput, the 
subdivisions of all which are minute and perplexing. The rules res- 
pecting the division, conjunction, affinity, mutability, ellipses, and pow- 
er of consonants, were to be understood, and the long and short quanti- 
ty of vowels in the beginning, middle, and end. 

The Welsh system is described as comprehending twenty-four classes 
t f verse or elementary principles. These, with their subdivisions, saj 
tie authors of the Myvyrian Archaeology, "include every species of 
V rse that has ever yet, in any age, or amongst any people, been pro- 
di ced, besides a prodigious number of originals, entirely and exclusive- 
ly our own, all which had been discovered and brought into general 
practice about the close of the second period," commencing about the 
beginning of the twelfth century, and continuing to the fourteenth. 
Those who are interested in Cumraeg poetry and literature may con- 
sult the above work, which contains numerous specimens, unfortunately, 
by not having a translation, sealed up from all who are ignorant of the 
language. The antiquaries of the Principality, who account for the 
origin of almost every thing, tell us that Gwyddon Ganhebon was the 
first poet. The oldest sort of rhyme is called, in Rhys's Grammar, En- 
glyn Milur. 

We find the pupil of a learned Scot master of no fewer than one 
hundred different kinds of verse, with the musical modulation of words 
and syllables, which included letters, figures, poetic feet, tones, and 
time.* 

The warlike propensity of the Celts afforded ample scope for the 
employment of the bards, who chanted stimulating poems at the com- 
mencement and during the heat of a battle. The subject of those songs, 
which animated the Celtic warrior, was chiefly "the valorous deeds of 
worthy men composed in heroic verse."! Tacitus says, that, when the 
Germans advanced to battle, they extolled Hercules in their songs 
Among the Gael these spirit-stirring odes were styled Prosnachadh 
cath, or the incentives to battle; to which the Irish Rosga cath, martial 
odes, and the Welsh Arymes prydain and Cerdd vfUiant, or songs of 
praise, were analogous. J There was also a sort that may be called the 
recruiting song, or incentive to rise. 

" The song of battle " had an astonishing effect on the Celtic war 
riors, and its power of animation was not less remarkable among the 
Scotish Gael, than it was among the ancient Gauls. " Support," cries 
Fingal, " the yielding fight with song, for song enlivens the war." 

The war song of Gaul Mac Morn is given in this work, page 
116. Those compositions were in a short measure, and were repeated 
in an animated, rapid style; and so well adapted were the verses to the 

* Anglia sacra, ii. p. 2 — 7. Among the Northern nations, who seem to have despis- 
ed simple versification, there were no less than one hundred and thirty-six different 
kinds of measure. — Olaus Wormius. t Amm. Marc. xv. 9. 

t The Greek orthia and pasan must have been more than a huzza. A war song, pro 
bably resembVi..Tig the Prosnachadh, appears to have been so termed. 



DESCRIPTIONS OF POETRY. 399 

subject and the tune in which they were chaunted, which was again ex- 
pressive of the feeUng, that the sound partook of the tone of whatever 
passion the poet was at the time inspired with. Of this admirable adap- 
tation of language to the expression of feeling a thousand striking in- 
stances might be produced. The following may suffice. 

" The hoarse roaring of a wave against a rock. 
Stairirich measg charraige cruaidh a garraich." 

"The song of victory " was chanted by the bards, who preceded 
the army on its return from a successful expedition. 

The Cumhadh, or Lament, otherwise called the Coronach, was an 
elegy composed on the death or misfortunes of any celebrated individual. 
It partook, in some degree, of the song of praise, for it extolled the vir- 
tues of the individual; and in pathetic verse, to which the most plaintive 
wild notes were adapted, the bard gave vent to his own grief and excit- 
ed that of his hearers. These compositions were anciently repeated at 
funerals, but they have given way to the music of the bagpipe, the tune 
only being now played during the impressive ceremony. The Irish 
caoine, or cine, is still retained in secluded parts of the island, and is 
religiously adhered to by some even in London. The wife, or other 
near relations, commonly assisted by mercenary mourners, occasionally 
get up whilst the corpse is tvaking, and, in an extempore effusion, ac- 
companied with tears and the most doleful cries, celebrate the merits of 
the deceased. The same conduct was formerly continued while the 
corpse was on its way to its last resting place,. An ancient and affect- 
ing lamentation over Cuchullin, has fortunately been preserved, and 
shows the nature of this sort of composition, one characteristic of which 
is, that every stanza closes with some remarkable title of the person to 
whom it refers. 

The ancient poems were repeated at entertainments, and in those, 
where a dialogue occurs, the characters were represented by different 
bards, or other individuals. In the poem of Carrie thura, the parts of 
Vinvela and Shilric were represented by Cronnan and Minona. 

Sir John Sinclair sketches, from the first book of Fingal, a dramatic 
scene, which, he believes, was acted by different persons. Clarke, 
who refuted the attack of Shaw, on the authenticity of the poems, de- 
clares that he went with Mac Pherson to late wakes in Badenoch, where 
they were so acted or represented. " The Highlanders, at their fes- 
tivals and other public meetings, acted the poems of Ossian. Rude 
and simple as their manner of acting was, yet any brave or generous 
action, any injury or distress exhibited in the representation, had a sur- 
prising effect towards raising in them corresponding passions and senti- 
ments."* 

When the Highlanders met to watch the corpse of their friends, most 
part of the night was spent in repeating their ancient poems, and talking 
of the times of Fingal. On these occasions they often laid wagers who 

* Rev. Donald Mac Leod writing to Dr. Blair, 1763. 



400 ' DESCRIPTIONS OF VERSIFICATION. 

should repeat the greatest number of verses; and to have acquired a 
great store of this oral knowledge was reckoned an enviable acquisition. 
Dr. Mac Leod says, he knew old men who valued themselves much for 
having gained some of these wagers. The Prosnachadh fairge, already 
noticed, contains upwards of 800 lines, the Lament of the Women of 
Mull about 250, and Mac Intyre's Beindoran is about 1000 lines, or 
nearly as long as any of Ossian's compositions, yet the people learn 
every word of these long poems. Even in the Low Country the people 
delighted in lengthened recitations, as witness the poem on Flodden 
Field, on the battle of Harlaw, 62 verses, the battle of Glenlivat, 82, 
Stc. &c. 

Most of the Highland amusements were connected with poetry, and 
some of those diversions in which they took greatest delight were, in 
fact, poetical exercises. The obligation laid on every one who partook 
of the Drom-uinn to recite an extempore verse has been noticed. Dr. 
Johnson describes an amusement in the hall of a laird, where a person, 
dressed in the skin of a beast, makes his appearance, and is immediately 
attacked, but ultimately the assailants, as if frightened and overpower- 
ed, run out. The door is then shut; and when admission is solicited, for 
the honor of poetry, it is not to be obtained but by repeating a verse; 
this is called Beannachadh Bhaird. 

A curious method of composition was, by connecting three lines or 
sentiments, of which sort are the famous Welsh Triads, first committed 
to writing, it is thought, about 1200 years ago. Cormac, king of Ire- 
land, about 260, wrote De Triadibus, and Camden mentions a Welsh 
work, Triadum Liber. Some of the Triads of the celebrated Fingal are 
still preserved in oral record. 

' In Gaelic poetry, the rhythm sometimes consists in the similarity of 
the last words of the first and third, and second and fourth lines, as in 
English composition, thus — 

Measg aoibhneis an talla nam fear 
Mar so thog cronan am fonn 
Dh'eirich maduinn a, soills' o'n ear 
Bughorm air an lear, an tonn. 

Carraig Thura, ver. 195. 

In the stanza which immediately follows this, the rhymes are in the 
last syllables, but the final consonants are not alike, the harmony de- 
pending on the concord of the vowels. 

Ghairm an righ a shiuil gu crann ; 
Thanig gaoth a nail o'n Chruaich : 
Dh'eirich Innis-Thorc gu mall ; 
Is Carraig Thura iul nan stuadh. 

Here the correspondence is in the a in the first and third lines, and in 
he «a in the second and fourth. 
Sometimes the conformity between the last word of a line, and some 



DESCRIPTIONS OF VERSIFICATION. 401 

word or part of a word about the middle of the following line, constituted 
the rhyme: as, 

' Suaigneach m' aigne 'n uaimh mo bhroin ; 

' Smor mo leon fo laimh na h'aois. 

Ossag 'tha gastar o Thuath 

Na dean tuasaid ruim 'smi lag. 

Morduth. 

The above three sorts of rhyme are often found in one composition, 
intermixed with couplets rhyming as softly and perfectly as in modern 
Italian; for example — 

( Soilsichibh Srad air Druim feinne 

'Sthig mo laoich o ghruaigh gach beinne. 

Morduth. 

Some of the most beautiful passages in old Gaelic poetry are, how- 
ever, a sort of blank verse, having no rhyme. It appears that the bards 
sought in this case no more than to render every line perfect, with- 
out any dependance on the next, of which the above poem affords an 
example. 

Dhaluich a ghealach a ceann ; 
Bha cadal reultan air chul neoil. 
Cabhag ghaoth is cuan o chian : 
Bu gharbh an cath bha eadar stuaidh 
Is sileadh gailbheach nan speur. 

The Prosnachadh cath Gariach, a specimen of which is given in 
page 117, is a curious example of ingenious alliteration, each stanza 
being composed of epithets, the initial letter of which is always the same. 
The ease with which the language is rendered harmonious is the cause 
that there are so few bad verses in Gaelic. Many of the sweetest lyrics 
have no other rhyme than the frequent sound of a single vowel or diph- 
thong running throughout the stanza, with hardly any regularity of 
situation. 

A nighean donn na buaile 

Gam bheil an gluasad farusda 

Gun tug mi gaol co buan duit 

'Snach gluais c air an Earrach so 

Mheall thu mi le d' shughradh, 

Le d' bhriodal a's le d' chuine 

Lub thu mi mar fhiuran 

* — 

'Scha duchas domh bhi fallain uaith. 

jlnon. 
In singing or playing these compositions, the rhyming vowels are ap- 
parent, and prove the harmony of the measure. " The Aged Bard's 
Wish" is probably older than the introduction of Christianity among the 
Gael, foi he displays his belief in the ancient Celtic theology, and an- 
ticipates the joys that await him in the elysium of the bards — in the hall 
of Ossian, and of Daol- It shows that at a very early period, harmony 

61 



402 DESCRIPTIONS OF VERSIFICATION. 

of numbers was sedulously studied. There is a beautiful poetical trans- 
lation of this piece by Mrs. Grant; for the literal version of the stanzas 
quoted I am indebted to the author of Melodies from the Gaelic. 



THE AGED BARD'S WISH. 

Ocairibh mi ri taobh nan allt 
A shiubhlas mall le ceumaibh ciuin. 
Fo sgail a bharraich leag mo cheann 
'S bith thus a ghrian ro chairdeil rium. 

Gu socair sin 's an fheur mo thaobh 
Air bruaich na'n dithean 'snan gaoth lla, 
Mo chos ga slioba sa bhraon rahaoth, 
Se luba thairis caoin tren bhl^r. 

Biodh sobhrach bhcin is ailli snuadh 
M'an cuairt do m' thulaich, 'suain fo dhriuchd, 
'San neonain bheag 's mo lamh air chluain 
'San ealbhuigh mo chluas gu cur.* 

Lyrical compositions are, without comparison, the most numerous in 
the Highlands, the first-mentioned measures being chiefly confined to 
those called Ossianic and other ancient poems. Of lyric poems, thou- 
sands might be collected, some of considerable antiquity, and many of 
great beauty, and the measures are nearly as numerous as the airs to 
which they are sung. 

There is an ode, the stanzas of which consist of two lines and a repe- 
tition of the last. In this, the word upon which the cesural pause falls, 
rhymes with the final word, and with some other word about the middle 
of the second line; thus 

Lochluinneach threum toiseach bhur sgeil 
Sliochd solta bhair freamh Mhknais 
Sliochd solta, bhair freamh Mhanais. 



O lay me by the streams that ghde. 
With gentle murmurs soft and slow, 
Let spreading boughs my temples hide ; 
Thou sun, thy kindest beams bestow. 

And be a bank of flowers my bed, 
My feet laved by a wandering rill : 
Te winds, breathe gently round my head, 
Bear balm from wood, and vale, and hill. 

Thou primrose pale, with modest air. 
Thou daisy white, of grateful hue, 
With other flowers, as sweet and fair 
Around me smile through amber dew. 



DESCRIPTIONS OF VERSIFICATION. 403 

In the ode of three lines, with the stanza twice repeated, the ante- 
penults of the first and second lines rhyme with a syllable at the middle 
vf the third line. 

Gam biodh faram air thkilisg, 

Agus fuiam air a chlarsaich, 

Mar a bhuineadh do shar Mhac Mhic Leod.* 

Gam biodh, «fcc. 

Gur e b'eachdraidh na dheigh sin 

Greis air ursgeul an Feine 

'S air a chuideachda cheir-ghil na' n crochd. 

Gur e b', &c. 

The ode of six lines of four syllables and a seventh of six syllables has 
the first six lines rhyming at the end, and with the antepenult of the 
seventh 

Leansa 'sna treig 
Cleachdadh as beus 
Taitim gu leir, 
Macanta searah, 
Pailt ri luchd theud 
Gaisgail am feim 
Neartmhor an deigh toirachd. 

These three sorts of measures are by the celebrated poetess Mary 

Mac Leod, and she appears to have invented them, for I do not think 

they occur in the works of any other. 

There are stanzas of four lines, each of the three first having a double 

rhyme, and the rhyming word of the last line of every stanza answers 

to that of the fourth line of each of the first stanza, as seen by this 

specimen. 

Thuair mi sgeula moch dicedin 

Air laimh fheuma bha gu creuchdach, 

'Sleor a gheurad ann san leiunsa 

* 
Anal on trend bha buaghar. 

O Dhun Garanach ur AUail 
Na'n trup meara 's na 'n steud seanga, 
Na'n gleus glana s'ceutach sealladh, 
B6ichdail allaidh uaibhreach. 

* The game of chess, 
And the music of the harp, 
The history of the feats of tlie Fingalians, 
With the relations of the pleasures of the chase, 
Were what the good son of Mac Leod loved. 



404 . BARDS. 

A stanza of eight lines of six and eight syllables, where the final syl- 
lables of the second, fourth, sixth, and eighth lines rhyme, is common. 
In another also of eight lines of seven and five syllables, the last words 
of the second, fourth, sixth, and eighth lines rhyme, and cesural and 
penult, and cesural and final rhymes occur irregularly throughout the 
other lines. 

Si so'n aimsir an dearbhar 

Antaiganach dhiunn; 

'S bras meinmnach fir Albin 

Fon annaibh air thus ; 

± * 

'Nuair dh eireas gach reun-laoch 

Na'n eididh ghlan ur 
* *. 

Le run feirg agus gairge 

Gu seirbhis a chruin* 

That Gaelic poetry may be regularly scanned, is shown by Mr. Arm- 
strong in his excellent Dictionary. 

Gaelic poetry seems to have had its classical as well as its declining 
period. There are many ancient poems of great beauty that cannot 
have been composed later than the first, second, or third century at least, 
but from the fall of the Pictish kingdom until the thirteenth century 
there is hardly any thing to be found of historical poetry. Whatever 
destruction may have been occasioned by Edward I. to the other his- 
torical documents, he could never carry away the productions of Mac 
Alpin's bard and succeeding professors; they must have come down to 
our times like those of Ossian and Ullin, had they ever existed or been 
at all worthy of preservation. The dark age of poetry and learning in 
the Highlands continued nearly 500 years. "f 

Some Highlanders have heard a song repeated on the battle of Perth, 
1396, which bore evidence of its having been composed about the period 
of that event. Lachlan mhor Mac Mhuirich Albinnich, bard to the 
Lords of the Isles, was probably born about the middle of the fourteenth 
century. He composed that curious Prosnachadh, to animate the troops 
at the battle of Gariach in 1411, since which time every thing memora- 
ble in Highland history is recorded in poetry. 

Mary Mac Leod, better known by the appellation of Nighean Alas- 
tair Ruadh, or the daughter of Red Alexander, was born about 1570. 
Many of her compositions are of great beauty. 

Shelah Mac Donald, of the house of Keppoch, a family that may be 
termed hereditary poets, who lived from the reign of Charles II. to that 
of George I., wrote many patriotic and moral odes of great merit. 

Mr. Alexander Mac Donald, whose admirable Prosnachadh Fairge 

" John Lom Mac Donald's Address and Invitation to the Clans, in 1714, to take 
up armsj 

t Poetry flourished in Wales until the time of Elizabeth, when it dechned, until re- 
vived by the encouragement of late institutions. — Myvyrian ArchcEology. 



BARDS. 405 

has been partially translated, in a previous chapter, was an excellent 
poet, and strongly imbued with the spirit of Ossian. He lived from the 
latter end of the sixteenth until after the middle of the seventeenth 
century, and was a good scholar and musician. His first song, " Ban- 
arach Dhonn a Chruidh," is still very popular, and the air to which it is 
sung made so strong an impression on Burns, that he wrote the words 
of "the Banks of the Devon" to it. Mac Donald's " Praise of Morag" 
is equally popular, and appears to have been the first poem adapted to 
a Piobrachd. It has three parts, the first being quick, the second 
quick, quick, and the third quick, quick, quick, and is the same measure 
as that in which Mac Intyre composed his celebrated descriptive poem 
of " Beinn Dorain," and Mac Kenzie that of" the Ship." 

John Lom Mac Donald was born in the reign of James the First of 
England, and, I believe, died either in the reign of Queen Anne, or 
that of her successor, at a very great age. He accompanied Montrose 
•u all his wars, being named poet laureate to the king, and contributed 
to the support of the royal cause, probably as much by his songs as the 
marquis did by his sword. He celebrated in verse the notable victory 
at Kilsyth, which he attributes to Montrose, and that at Inverlochy, 
which he thinks was achieved by Alexander Mac Donald, commonly 
called Mac Coll, or Colcitach. This last poem he composed on the top 
of the Castle of Inverlochy, to which he had retired to view the bat- 
tle; and being reproached by Montrose for not taking the field, he 
asked the hero, who would have commemorated his valor had the 
bard been in the fight? He laments, in pathetic verse, the murder of 
the king and of Montrose, but his indignation does not lead him to abuse 
Cromwell. He sung the murder of the children of Kepoch, and having 
obtained a commission to apprehend the murderers dead or alive, he 
ceased not to pursue his object until he carried their heads to the lords 
of council. He was an eccentric character, warm and ardent in his 
friendship, bitter and unrelenting in his hatred, the greatest share of 
which fell to the Campbells. It is related, that dining one day with the 
Earl of Argyle, his host asked him why he kept always gnawing at his 
clan; when John, presuming on the bardic privilege, promptly express- 
ed his regret that he could not swallow them. 

From the time of John Lom, there is an uninterrupted succession of 
good poets. Mr. Mac Pherson, of Strathmasie, who was born about 
1720, and died in the latter end of the last century, was a gentleman 
and a scholar, equal to the best Gaelic bards in every respect, and su- 
perior to them all in one particular — humor. His poems have not been 
published in a collected form, and some of them have never been com- 
mitted to the press, but a good many of them are to be met with in the 
collections of Stewart, Macfarlane and Turner. Alastair Mac Aonai? 
composed a Prosnachadh do ua Gael in 1745, and other pieces. 

The celebrated John Roy Stewart, who was both a good soldier aL 
a good poet, must not be forgotten. In a poem on the battle of Culh 



406 BARDS. 

den, he finds an opportunity to inveigh against Lord George Murray, 
whose proceedings during the progress of the Rebellion he often disap- 
proved of He directly charges his Lordship with treachery. His La- 
ment for Lady Mac Intosh, who may be called his sister in arms, from 
having joined the rising in 1745, is pathetic and elegant, 

William Ross, Robert Donn, and Duncan Mac Intyre, possess supe- 
rior excellence. Ross may be called the Gaelic Anacreon, Donn the 
Juvenal, while Mac Intyre combines the descriptive powers of Thomson 
with the versatile genius of Burns. The works of Robert Donn, who 
was a native of Sutherland, were published in one volume, 1829. Mac 
Intyre was a native of Glenurchy, and served in the Argyle Militia at 
the battle of Falkirk, where he lost his sword, which was a favorite 
weapon of the chieftain of the Fletchers. His Apologetic Poem on this 
misfortune is humorous, and shows that he was not sorry at the defeat 
of the royal forces. When after the rebellion in 1745, the wise ministry 
of George II. thought the Highlanders could be made loyal by being 
compelled to wear a foreign, and to them very inconvenient dress, Mac 
Intyre wrote his poem of " the grey breeches," in which he flatly accuses 
parliament and the ministry of injustice in imposing such a garb on the 
loyal as well as disloyal clans, insinuating that it would make the next 
rising more general: for this he was imprisoned. His poems were 
published in 1768, and that on Bein Dorain is said to excel every thing 
of the kind. 

Dugald Buchannan, a schoolmaster at Rannoch, published a volume 
of poems in 1770; and Kenneth Mac Kenzie, originally a sailor, and 
afterwards an officer in the army, who is perhaps still alive, published 
in 1796 a volume of poems of some merit. John Mac Gregor, of Glen- 
lyon, published his poetical works in 1801. Those of Allan Mac Dou- 
gal, the blind bard of the late Glengarry, were first published in 1800, 
and their popularity is attested by many subsequent editions. This man 
was blind from his infancy, but Apollo, to compensate for the loss of 
sight, made him not only one of the best poets, but also of musicians. 

Among the modern poets of Caledonia, the late Mr. Ewen Mac Lach- 
lan, master of the Grammar School of Old Aberdeen, makes a conspicu- 
ous figure. He translated, from the Greek, the third book of Homer's 
Iliad, and various excerpts from the same poet. He also wrote " The 
Seasons" in four songs, and a variety of other pieces; but what is re- 
markable is, that although his English and classical writings are good, 
they are not at all equal to his Gaelic poetry, a proof, perhaps, of the 
superior fitness of that language for the service of the muses. 

Alexander and Donald Stewart published a large collection of the 
works of the bards who flourished within the last 400 years, and Tur- 
ner, himself an aspirant for poetic fame, in addition to his first work, 
obtained a numerous subscription for a collection of the Gaelic Jacobite 
songs, translated into English. 

Music is either the mother or daughter of poetry. It is probably the 



MUSIC. 407 

former. The manner of the Gaelic bards seems to have been to make 
the tune or melody first, and then to adapt words to it. The original 
poem was often lost, but the air if a good one, seldom shared the same 
fate, because a tune is easier learned than a song. Many, however, 
could make a song who could not compose a tune, and, consequently, 
many were adapted to the same air. The poetry, which was composed 
by the Celts for the service of religion, was chanted to appropriate 
music, and to the sweet melody of harps. The bards, who were of the 
Druidical order, sung the deeds of worthy men, celebrating the virtues 
of the good, and denouncing the vices of the reprobate. The practice 
of advancing to battle with songs of incitement and defiance was truly 
Celtic. The Gauls attacked Hannibal at the Rhone, crying and sing- 
ing after their custom.* The bards conducted the music, and, by difl^er- 
ent modulations and changes in the air, the troops were led to advance 
or retreat, a fierce and harsh tone of defiance, according to Tacitus, 
being chiefly studied, with an unequal murmur, sometimes produced by 
applying the shields to the mouth, to swell the notes. To Pythagoras, 
from whom the Druids did not much differ, if he did not form his opin- 
ions from their maxims, the world is said to be indebted for the discovery 
of the principles of music, and he introduced the system of seven planets 
from the seven tones. "j" The ancients esteemed a knowledge of music 
an indispensable accomplishment. The Arcadians, a people resembling 
the Scots' Highlanders, reckoned it infamous to be ignorant of so agree- 
able an art. The youth were carefully taught to sing until they were 
thirty years of age, and their favorite songs were in celebration of the 
angels of birth, the gods and virtuous men, affording in this a remarka- 
ble resemblance to the Celts. Whether the melody of the human voice 
preceded or followed instrumental music, it was much cultivated by the 
primitive Celts, and their descendants in the different races have evinced 
a strong attachment to it. It is probable that music was seldom heard 
in ancient times, without being accompanied by the recitation of poetry, 
the harper being also a vocal performer. The song of the Druids, en- 
graved in the following plates, is well known in the Highlands, where it 
is revered like a sacred hymn. The chanting of the Druidical precepts 
in times of paganism was imitated by the early Christians, who were 
passionately fond of music. Adomnan is represented as having taken 
much delight in hearing Cronan, a famous poet, sing his native melodies. 
The clergy did not confine their talents to the voice, and it was not sur- 
prising that they should excel in performing on instruments where the 
qualification was so common. Bede says, that at entertainments the 
harp was handed from one to another, and if any one could not play, he 
felt so ashamed of his deficiency, that he took the first opportunity to 
slink off'.J The bishops continued to carry this instrument along with 
them in the time of Cambrensis, and, indeed, the clergy were often ex- 
cellent bards. Donchadh O'Daly, Abbot of Boyle in 1250, excelled all 

*Polybius, iii. t Dion. Cassius, ap. Beloe on Herodotus. t Lib. iv. c. 24 



408 LUINEAGS OR SONGS. 

the bards of his time. The members of the Scots' Church brought 
sacred music to great perfection, and rendered it celebrated throughout 
Europe in very early ages, and left many treatises on it. When Neville 
Abbey, in France, was founded, the queen of Pepin sent for Scots' 
musicians and choristers to serve in it. Mungret Abbey, near Limer- 
ick, is celebrated by monkish writers for its religious melody, having no 
fewer than five hundred, who served continually in the choir.* Coradh, 
from cor or cur, music, is applied to a proficient in the art, from which 
Doctor O'Conner thinks the name of curetes among the primseval Celts 
was derived. 

The ancient Gael were fond of singing, whether in a sad or cheerful 
frame of mind. Bacon justly remarks, that music feedeth that disposi- 
tion which it findeth: it was a sure sign of brewing mischief when a 
Caledonian warrior was heard to " hum his surly song." This race, in 
all their labors, used appropriate songs, and accompanied their harps 
with their voices. At harvest the reapers kept time by singing; at sea 
the boatmen did the same; and while the women were graddaning, per- 
forming the luaghadh, or at other rural labor, they enlivened their work 
by certain airs called luineags. When milking, they sung a certain 
plaintive melody, to which the animals listened with calm attention. 
The attachment which the nations of Celtic origin have to their music is 
strengthened by its intimate connexion with the national songs. The 
influence of both on the Scots' character is confessedly great — the pic- 
tures of heroism, love, and happiness exhibited in their songs are indeli- 
bly impressed on the memory, and elevate the mind of the humblest 
peasant. The songs united with their appropriate music affect the sons 
of Scotia, particularly when far distant from their native glens and ma- 
jestic mountains, with indescribable feelings, and excite a spirit of the 
most romantic adventure. In this respect the Swiss, who inhabit a 
country of like character, and who resemble the Highlanders in many 
particulars, experience similar emotions. On hearing the national Ranz 
de vache, their bowels yearn to revisit the ever dear scenes of their 
youth. So powerfully is the amor patriae awakened by this celebrated 
air, that it was found necessary to prohibit its being played under pain 
of death among the troops, who would burst into tears on hearing it, 
desert their colors, and even die. 

No songs could be more happily constructed for singing during labor 
than those of the Highlanders, every person being able to join in them, 
sufficient intervals being allowed for breathing time. In a certain part 
of the song, the leader stops to take breath, when all the others strike in 
and complete the air with a chorus of words and syllables, generally 
without signification, but admirably adapted to give effect to the time. 

* Archdall's JMonasticon, Hib. The English Church appears to have been a con- 
trast. Prinn, in 1CG:3, compares the music to the bleating of brute beasts. Histrio 
mastix. See Ledwich's Observations on the Gregorian and Ambrosian chants, in 
Walker's Bards. 



NOTATION OF MUSIC. 409 

In singing during a social meeting, the company reach their plaids or 
handkerchiefs from one to another, and swaying them gently in their 
hands, from side to side, take part in the chorus as above. A large 
company thus connected, and see-sawing in regular time, has a curious 
eftect; sometimes the bonnet is mutually grasped over the table. The 
Low Country manner is, to cross arms and shake each other's hands to 
the air of " auld lang syne" or any other popular and commemorative 
melody. Fhir a bhata, or the boatmen, the music of which is annexed, 
is sung in the above manner, by the Highlanders with much effect. It 
is the song of a girl whose lover is at sea, whose safety she prays for, 
and whose return she anxiously expects. The greater proportion of 
Gaelic songs, whether sung in the person of males or females, celebrate 
the valor and heroism, or other manly qualifications, of the clans. 

We are not precisely informed of the method by which the bards 
taught the music. In the college of choristers, we are told, it was 
taught in the drochaidh, or circle of melody. Brompton says, those of 
Ireland were instructed in secret, their lessons being committed to mem- 
ory; and it is believed, that they had not in ancient times the art of 
communicating their melodies by notation, circumstances to which must, 
in a great measure, be attributed our imperfect knowledge of ancient 
Celtic music. Although the principle which led the Celts to teach by 
memory long existed, some remains of musical notation are yet to be 
found. A curious specimen, not older, however, than the time of Queen 
Elizabeth, is given by Walker. An air, called the tune of David the 
Prophet, a production of the eleventh century, was deciphered from an 
ancient Welsh MS., and Mr. Turner mentions another MS. of British 
music in existence, of which the notation cannot now be explained; be- 
ing disregarded while it could be understood, it is thus lost forever.* 
An Irish MS. of the fifteenth century contains the native musical terms. 
Car was a line of poetry, marked, and the characters; annal was a 
breathing, and ceol was the sound, which also signified tne middle tone, 
or pitch of the voice. Ard ceol was a third higher, and bas ceol was a 
depression, one-third lower than the pitch. Circeoi denoted the turn- 
ing, or modulation, and semitones were left to the musician's ear. 
There were three names for harp notes, signifying the single, the great, 
and the little harmony. 

Celtic music, like the poetry, is generally of a grave and plaintive 
character, although cheerful and animating airs are by no means want- 
ing. " The Welsh, the Scots, and the Irish, have all melodies of a 
simple sort, which, as they are connected together by cognate marks, 
evince at once their relationship and antiquity. "f The Manx have but 
a few national airs that much resemble the Irish. The Golltraidheacht 
of the Irish was the martial music. — This sort seems adapted to the 
Prosnachadh Cath of the Gael, which is in a short, rapid, spirit-stirring 
measure, of which many curious specimens might be given. This spe- 

* Preface to his History of the Anglo Saxons. i Caledonia, i. 476. 

52 



410 SCOTISH MUSICAL SCALE. 

cies of music being introduced at entertainments, is also called the 
festive. The Geantraidheacht is the sorrowful, of which sort the 
Caledonians are very fond. The Suantraidheacht is the reposing, or 
that which was calculated to quiet the mind and dispose the person 
hearing it to sleep. We perceive in the works of the old bards mel- 
odies for war, for love, and for sorrow, but in later times we shall 
find other classes that seem to have emanated from the pipers. The 
song of peace was raised in the field of battle at the termination of a 
conflict, and the song of victory was sung by the bards before the king 
after the gaining of a battle. In the poem of Cath Loda is an invoca- 
tion to the harp of Cona, with its three voices, to come " with that which 
kindles the past." Fingal had a particular tune that appears to have 
been well known; it is called " that song which he hears at night when 
the dreams of his rest descend." 

The love songs compose the chief part of the national poetry of Ire- 
land and Scotland. Of the former country, it has been said, that its 
poetry seems considered as designed for love only, an opinion for which 
there is some reason. The amatory effusions of the Scots' bards exhibit 
great knowledge of the human heart and delicacy of sentiment, with a 
spirit of affection, and romantic tenderness and devotion, not surpassed, 
if equalled, by any other people either ancient or modern. The passion 
of love is excited by the sensibility and tenderness of the music; and, 
stimulated by its influence, the Gael indulge a spirit of the most roman- 
tic attachment and adventure which the peasantry of, perhaps, no other 
country exhibit. 

It is well known that the Scots' music is composed on a peculiar scale. 
Caledonia has indeed to boast of the most ancient melodies, and, per- 
haps, the only national melody in Europe; the Irish rank next to her; 
and the Welsh must be permitted to follow in the possession of their 
corresponding styles. 

The Scotish scale consists of six notes, having, in the key of C, c, d, 
e, g, a, c, corresponding to the black keys of the piano forte; a scale, 
from its natural simplicity, singularly well adapted for the composition 
of an air. This is the enharmonic scale, used by the Egyptians, and 
other Eastern nations, and similar to that of the ancient Greeks. 
Whether, from the possession of this system, or peculiar organization, 
the Celts were proverbially musical; and the music of the Scotish Low- 
landers, which they think their own, being genuine Gaelic, they prob- 
ably have preserved from the time when they retained the same language 
and manners as their brethren in the mountains. Those who believe 
that Pictish invasions rendered the Eastern Scots a Gothic people, and 
altered their language, are obliged to confess that the music underwent 
no such change. The diatonic scale used by the Gothic nations pro- 
duces melodies of a character completely different from that of the Celts. 

Cambrensis contrasts the slow modulation in Britain with the rapid 
notes of the Irish. He says the Welsh did not sing in unison, but had 



SCOTISH MUSICAL SCALE. 411 

as many parts as there were performers, and that they all terminated in 
B flat; the treble part also began soft, and produced, at last, a wild 
melody; and, speaking of the natives of Cumberland, he says, they suncr 
in parts, in unisons, and octaves. 

Although the Welsh were not previously ignorant of music, it is relat- 
ed that Gryffith ap Cynan, or Conan, being educated in Ireland, brought 
its music, musicians, and instruments to his own country about 1100, 
and having summoned a congress of the harpers of both countries to 
revise the music, the twenty-four canons were established. It is diffi- 
cult to account for the fact, that the Welsh music, some of it of consid- 
erable antiquity too, differs from the Gaelic airs, being composed in the 
diatonic, or perfect scale. This modern style predominates, althouo-h 
not to the exclusion of the ancient, but the circumstance proves that the 
AVelsh have materially swerved from their ancient simplicity. In a 
small degree, this has been the case with the Irish also, but that which 
is considered their proper harp music is of the Scotish character. Mu- 
sicians and antiquaries seem to have found a bone of contention in the 
subject of these airs, some maintaining, that in the Highlands there are 
no harp melodies, while others assert that the luineags, or singing tunes, 
are composed for the harp only, and are unfit for the pipes. I am not 
a sufficient musician, perhaps, to discuss this subject with due ability, 
but I venture to say that both opinions are erroneous. Harp music is 
abundant in the Highlands, although not generally of the refined sort 
now so termed, and the old vocal melodies can certainly, with only a few 
exceptions, be performed on the pipe. The old harpers, who performed 
airs in the diatonic scale, appear to have tuned the instruments without 
knowing on what principle. 

It has excited the wonder of some, that the ancient Scots' airs are 
usually in the minor mode; some are not in it, because the flat series is 
never constituted as a key note by means of its sharp 7th, as it invaria- 
bly is in modern music* 

The most ancient vocal tunes had only one measure, and by attendintr 
to this, perhaps, one could form a tolerably accurate collection of genu- 
ine melodies, for it is my opinion, that the fiddlers added 2nd, 3rd, and 
sometimes 4th parts to the original strain, which additions may be detect- 
ed by being above the compass of the pipe chanter. Thus the beautiful 
Strathspey, for instance, called Galium Brogach, given as a specimen 
of this delightful music, is admirably adapted, in the first part, for the 
bagpipes. From this practice, however highly we esteem the merits of 
the individuals, we must regret the vitiation of some of our ancient pieces 
by Gow, Mac Intosh, and others. The simple harmonies, as given 
by Clarke, Fraser, and Mac Donald, are preferable to those put forth 
in characters unsuitable to the Celtic, and dressed up to please corrupt- 
ed tastes; the airs are altered indeed, but they can scarcely be said to 

* Essay on the Influence of Poetry and Music upon the Highlanders, in the Preface 
to Mac Donald's Collection of Gaelic Airs. 



412 SCOTISH MUSIC— STRATHSPEYS AND REELS. 

be improved, and the collection cannot claim to be one of genuine 
Scots' melodies, or aid in assisting to preserve these interesting relics in 
purity. 

There is another remarkable feature in the Gaelic school, and a cri- 
terion by which to judge of the age of tunes : the old airs, however slow 
and plaintive, are generally, with good effect, convertible into a quick, 
or dancing measure, and vice versa. Of this conversion, the dancing 
airs of modern times do not admit, at least, with any propriety. 

The appogiaturas in modern music, are usually the next in degree to 
the chief note, and any great departure from this rule is accounted a 
barbarism. In Scots' music they are some degrees distant, and appear 
very graceful. This is most remarkable in pipe tunes, to which instru- 
ment they are indispensable. 

There are certain differences very perceptible to a musical ear, in 
the style and character of the music of certain districts. The Caithness 
and Sutherland people are noted for playing in quick time, and the peo- 
ple of Strathspey, or rather the part of Scotland in which that valley is 
situated, are celebrated for their partiality to slow time, and the perfec- 
tion in which they have composed and play the airs, which are known 
by the name of the place where they originated. The Strathspey is in 
simple common time, and it has been described as being to the common 
reel what a Spanish fandango is to a French cotillion.* Many assert 
that Strathspeys are so essentially different from reels, that they can 
never be transposed; to me, it is evident that Strathspeys can be played 
in reel time with perfect facility, if not always with good effect, although 
I shall npt say that reels can be made Strathspeys. The people of this 
district liked their music of a slower turn than others, and produced that 
style now so much and so justly admired. 

Of the first composers or performers of Strathspeys, there appears to 
be no certain accounts. According to tradition, the first who 'played 
them were the Browns of Kincardine, to whom several of the ancient 
tunes are ascribed. After these, the Cumnnngs of Freuchie, now Cas- 
tle Grant, were the most celebrated. Of these musicians there were a 
hereditary succession, the last of whom, John Roy Gumming, who was 
very famous, died between 1750 and 1760. His descendants in London 
inherited the musical genius of their ancestors, and are known by many 
ingenious works in mechanics.* 

The Reel of Tulloch, given as a specimen, is a popular tune among 
pipers, from whom it receives the appellation Righ na m Porst, or king 
of airs. It is stated by Mac Donald, that this reel was composed at 
Tulloch, in Aberdeenshire, a tradition that I have often heard repeated, 
detailing the particular circumstances connected with its production, 
but in Mac Gregor's Collection of Poems, where the song is given, it is 
confidently asserted to be the composition of John Dubh Gear, a Mac 
Gregor of Glenlyon, 

* Newte. 



MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS. 413 

Some affect to discover a striking difference between Scots and Irish 
jig tunes. I confess I cannot so easily perceive it, although I am aware 
that each have their characteristic style. A frequent distinction, though 
by no means a general rule, is, that the first is most frequently in 6, 8 
time, the last 9, 8. The specimen given is a lively Highland air, but 
if sung or performed slowly, it is a very beautiful melody. 

Of the Pastoral Melodies many others might have been selected, 
perhaps superior to the one given, but amid so great a variety of beauti- 
ful airs, it is not easy to fix on one that will be admired by all. In 
looking over Fraser's Collection, I hesitated whether I should substitute 
"Nigean doun na Gobhair," The Maid that tends the Goats; " Bha- 
narach dhoun a chruidh," The Dairy Maid; or others of the same char- 
acter. The Lament of Ossian may not be received by the skeptical as 
the production of that bard, but it must be allowed to be, like the Druid's 
song, a fragment of merit, -which bears undoubted marks of great anti- 
quity. 

The MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS of the ancient Celts w^ere simple; that of 
which we read most is the harp, but they also had others. When the 
Gauls sacked Rome they had trumpets with which they sounded the 
charge.* and which were employed to assemble their council; they made 
a most horrid noise, and were at times blown to terrify the enemy.* 
The horn of battle was used by the old Caledonians to call the army to- 
gether, and sounded for a retreat; " The horn of Fingal" was, proba- 
bly, his attendant trumpet. The Cornu was blown by the Druids, and 
their Christian successors appear to have retained the practice. St. 
Patrick is represented as carrying one. The wind instruments of this 
sort in use among the ancient Irish, were the Stuic, a brazen tube, used 
as a speaking trumpet. The Coma, in its rudest form, was a cow's 
horn, and was sometimes sufficiently powerful to be heard at a distance 
of six miles. The Dudag is not certainly known, but is believed to 
have been a semi-circular horn. Some of them were found near Ar- 
magh, and are engraved in the Transactions of the Royal Irish Society;! 
when blown they are said to have made a tremendous noise. The Buab- 
hal, Beann, and Adharc, are not precisely known, but are conjectured 
to be only different names for cornua. O 'Conner says, that particular 
clans had horns of peculiar tones, and Froissart describes the Scots at 
Otterburn as blowing them in different notes. The Irish also speak of 
Gall trompa, the stranger's trumpet, and the Blaosg, or concha marina, 
resembling the buccinum of the Latins. The Cibbual, or corabas, was 
composed of several small plates of brass, or shingles of wood, fastened 
with a thong, being held in one hand while it was struck with the palm 
of the other The Corabasnas consisted of two circular plates of brass, 
connected by a twisted wire, which, on being struck, produced a jing- 
ling sound, and was used to mark time. The Corna'n, or crona'n, was 
named from cor, music, and anan, base, an instrument to which the 

* Diodorus. \ Vol. viii. 



414 THE HARP. 

lachdar channus was similar. The readaa, fideog, or lonloingean, are 
supposed to have been a sort of flutes.* 

The HARP, that most ancient and esteemed of stringed instruments, 
was a favorite of the Celtic nations, and was retained in the British Isl- 
ands when it had become almost unknown on the continent. The Hy- 
perboreans, who are believed to have been the Aborigines of Britain, 
were celebrated performers on it, accompanying their hymns with its 
music, and carrying their offerings to Delos with both flutes and harps. 

The Irish have, in all ages, been noted for their excellence in harp 
music, and many proofs could be adduced of their proficiency. It is re- 
lated of the King of Munster, so early as 489, that he had the best band 
of harpers of any in his time, who accompanied their music with sing- 
ing;! but the most flattering testimonial to the national merit is paid by 
Giraldus Cambrensis, who resided in Ireland for some time in the latter 
part of the twelfth century. His eulogium is certainly high, and its jus- 
tice is confirmed by his countrymen, who acknowledge, that to the Irish 
they owe not only the improvement of the harp, but that of their music 
also.J Powell, in his History of Cambria, says, that in 1078, " Gryf- 
fith ap Cynan, or Conan, brought from Ireland cunning musicians, that 
devised in a manner all the instrumental music now used, as appears by 
the names of the tunes and measures." That their harp may have been 
improved by the Irish is probable, but it was used by them from the 
remotest ages. The harper was a distinguished member of the royal 
household; none were permitted by their laws to play on this instrument 
except freemen; and it was reckoned disgraceful for a gentleman not 
to have a harp and be able to play on it. Buchannan is adduced as 
testifying that the harpers in Scotland were all Irishmen, but as the pas- 
sage refers to a king, whose existence is denied, it is unfair to press it 
into the service, or lay any weight on it. Ireland at one time does ap- 
pear to have obtained a superior reputation for skill in harp music; but 
Giraldus who extols them so highly, says, when he had made himself 
better informed, that it was the opinion of many that the Scots far sur- 
passed the Irish in musical science, and that Scotland had become the 
resort of those who were desirous of perfecting themselves in it. Al- 
though there is not, I believe, at present in the Highlands any profes- 
sional harper, and although it had been so long disused, that its former 
existence in these parts was doubted, it is easily proved, from other au- 
thorities than the above, to have been common to the Gael. Buchan- 
nan speaks of their delightful playing on it; and Major tells us, James 
I., who died in 1437, excelled all the Irish and Scots' Highlanders, who 
were the best of all harpers. In short, harpers were hereditary attend- 
ants on the Scots' kings and the Highland chiefs, from whom they had 
certain lands and perquisites; and this is confirmed by a hundred names 
of places throughout the Highlands, and by numerous traditions. 

One instance, apparently the latest, of a harper attending a Highland 

* Walker's Irish Bards. t Life of St. Kieran. i Caradoc, ap. Wynne, Walker, &o 



THE HARP. 415 

army occurs in the case of that sent against the cathoUc lords, Errol, 
Huntly, and Angus, in 1594, on which occasion, Argyle carried with 
him his harper to animate his troops, unfortunately without effect. Tlie 
prophecy of a witch, whom he also took with him, that it should be play- 
ed at the Castle of Slanes, the Earl of Errol's seat, on a certain day, 
may have been literally true, for it could have been there sounded at 
the time foretold, but the Campbells had previously suffered a total 
defeat 

A harp key, that had been time immemorial m the family of Lord Mac 
Donald, and that bore marks of antiquity, being ornamented with gold 
and silver, and a precious stone, making its value eighty or one hundred 
guineas, was presented by his lordship to the celebrated O'Kane. But 
the harps of Lude, that have been preserved so long by the Robertsons 
of that house, are now in possession of the Highland Society, and remain 
valuable relics in themselves, and evidence that this instrument held the 
same place in Scotland that it did in Wales and Ireland. One of these 
harps was brought from Argyle by a daughter of the Laird of Lamont, 
who married into the family about 1460, and is supposed to be some cen- 
turies older than that time; the other was presented by Queen Mary, 
when on a hunting excursion, to Beatrix Gardyn, daughter to the Laird 
of Banchory, near Aberdeen, who was married to Findia Mhor, an an- 
cestor of the Farquharsons of Invercauld, from whom both families are 
descended,* and such a present shows that to play on the harp was at 
that time an accomplishment of the ladies of Scotland, at least of the 
Highlands, for it is not to be supposed the Queen would have bestowed 
this instrument on one who did not understand it. 

Mr. Bowles, the ingenious author of Hermes Britannicus, believes 
the form of the Celtic harp is represented in the figures on an ancient 
monument in Egypt, where it is seen exactly to resemble that of the 
moderns. 

There appears to have been four sorts of harps among the ancient 
Irish. The common sort, or clarsach, the ceirnine, a smaller sort, the 
creamthine cruit, and the cionar cruit. The harp proper was called 
clar or clarsach by the Scots and Irish, and was sometimes termed sit- 
earn, a word now obsolete. The Welsh call the harp telin, which seems 
to be a pronunciation of teud luin, an appellation borrowed from the 
Gael, who frequently term it poetically, teud ciuil, strings of melody. 

The Cruit, or croith, as some Irish will have it, is often confounded 
with the harp, but they were evidently different; "am bu lionmhan cruit 
is clar," there were many a cruit and harp, says an old poem. The 
name, which is Latinized Crotta, is derived by etymologists from crith, 
a shaking. It is the crwth of the Welsh, and the parent of the violin, 
from which, in old English, a fiddler was denominated a crowther. This 
instrument was once much esteemed in Scotland, but has been so long 
disused in that country, that the Welsh think it their own."]" 

* Trans, of Highland Soc. iii. p. 39. Introd. t Evans. 



416 THE HARP. 

The Creatnthine cruit had six strings, and was used at carousals; the 
Cionar cruit, used by the bards, had ten strings, and was played by a 
bow, answering, it is thought, to the canora cythara of the Romans, and 
the modern guitar. 

From some ancient sculpture, the Gaelic harp appears to have been 
of the same form as it is still. That which is believed, apparently with 
truth, to have belonged to Brian Boroimh, king of Ireland, slain in 1014, 
is preserved in Trinity College, Dublin, and has been engraved in seve- 
ral works. It bears an exact resemblance to the clarsach Lumanach, 
as the Lament's harp is called, and that of Queen Mary, in the number 
of strings and general appearance, being only one inch higher than 
the latter, which is thirty-one inches in extreme height, and the breadt :i 
of the lowest part of the sounding board, which rises towards the 
middle, while that of the other is flat, is only eleven inches and a 
half. This harp has twenty-eight string holes, and the like number of 
pins or keys to which the strings are fixed. The holes are quite plain, 
unlike those of the other, which have brass escutcheons of neat work- 
manship fixed in the sound board. In front of the upper arm were the 
queen's portrait, and the arms of Scotland, both in gold, and on each 
side was placed a jewel, surrounded by minute inlaid work, as repre- 
sented, but of those valuables it was despoiled in the troubles of 1745. 
Queen Mary's harp is altogether a more neat and compact instrument 
than the other, being little more than half its weight. The Caledonian 
harp has thirty strings, and has this peculiarity, that the front arm is not 
perpendicular to the sounding board, but is turned considerably towards 
the left, to afford a greater opening for the voice of the performer, and 
this construction shows that the accompaniment of the voice was a chief 
province of the harper.* Giraldus describes the harp as containing 
twenty-eight strings, but they were afterwards increased to thirty-three, 
and Mysut, a Jesuit, is said to have introduced double strings in the 
fifteenth century. The old Welsh harp is said to have had nine strings, 
and that of the Caledonians only four. An account is given by Martin 
of a man who travelled about as a harper, with an instrument contain- 
ing only four strings, and ornamented with two hart's horns in front. It 
was first intended to string the above two harps with brass wire, accord- 
ing to the old Scots' and Irish manner, but as it would have been neces- 
sary, in order to bring out the proper sound, for one to allow the finger 
nails to grow to a certain length, that method was abandoned. A fine 
clear tone was produced by the finger nails from the wire, and it is relat- 
ed of O'Kane, the Irish harper, who frequented the Highlands about 
thirty years ago, that, inheriting a bardic spirit of arrogance, he was often 
punished by being turned from the houses of his patrons with his nails 
cut. The strings Avere also sometimes struck by a plectrum, or bit of 
crooked iron. Both Highlanders, Irish, and Welsh, held their harp on 
the left side, and a remarkable peculiarity in the construction of the 

" Gunn's Enquiry respecting the Performance of tlie Harp. 



THE HARP. 417 

Caledonian one, as represented by Gunn, is, that it is bent to accommo- 
date the arm. 

Buchannan describes the Scots' harp as sometimes strung with wire, 
and sometimes with gut. The Welsh now use strings of the latter, but 
formerly they appear to have used hair; hence Borde speaks of his 
harp, which was 

"made of a good mare's skyn, 
The strynges be of horse hair, it maketh a good dyn." 

There is this distinction made by the Chronicle of 1597, that the clar- 
ishoe (clarsach) had brass wire, and the harp sinew strings. 

The Highlanders took great pains to decorate their harps. Buchan- 
nan said their only ambition seemed to be to deck them with silver and 
precious stones; the poor, who could afford nothing better, using crys- 
tals and brass. 

Roderick Morrison, usually called Rory Dall, or the blind, was one 
of the last native harpers. He served in that capacity to the laird of 
Mac Leod, but on the death of his master, Dunvegan castle and its 
establishment being abandoned, he began an itinerant life. About 1650, 
he accompanied the Marquis of Huntly on a visit to Robertson of Lude, 
on which occasion he composed a porst or air, which, with other pieces, 
are yet preserved, called Suipar, chiurn na Leod, or Lude's Supper. 
There is a proverb in Gaelic, referring to this man, implying that " one 
may tire of the best tune that Roderick ever played." 

Mr. Robertson was an eminent performer himself; and Mac Intosh, 
the compiler of the Gaelic Proverbs, relates the following anecdote, 
which he received from his father: " One night, my father, James Mac 
Intosh, said to Lude, that he would be happy to hear him play upon the 
harp, which, at that time, began to give place to the violin. After sup- 
per, Lude and he retired to another room, in which there were a couple 
of harps, one of which belonged to Queen Mary. James, says Lude, 
here are two harps; the largest one is the loudest, but the small one is 
the sweetest, which do you wish to hear played.' James answered the 
small one, which Lude took up and played upon till daylight." 

John Garbh Mac Lean, of Coll, who lived in the latter end of the 
reign of King James VI., and first of Charles, was a composer of music 
and a performer on the harp. Caoineadh Rioghail, the Royal Lament, 
and Toum Murran, two of his compositions, are yet preserved. This 
anecdote has been handed down concerning him: the captain of an En- 
glish vessel, which had been wrecked on the island, went to the Castle 
of Coll, where, seeing the laird sitting with a bible in one hand, and a 
harp placed by his side, he was struck by the venerable appearance 
of the old gentleman and his occupation, and exclaimed with admiration, 
" Is this King David restored again to the earth?" 

Murdoch Macdonald, who was brought up in this family, was, per- 
haps, the last harper. He studied with Rory Dall, in Sky, and after- 
wards in Ireland, and remained with Mac Lean, as harper, until 1734, 
53 



418 THE BAGPIPES. 

as appears from an account of payments still remaining, soon after whicr. 
he appears to have retired to Quinish, in Mull, where he died. He is 
still spoken of as Murdoch Clarsair, and his son was distinguished as 
Eoin Mac Mhurchaidh Clarsair. The Mac Niels, a celebrated race of 
bards, were the hereditary harpers of the Mac Leans, of Dowart. 

When Alexander III. met Edward I. at Westminster, he was attend- 
ed by harpers and minstrels, and Elyc, the chief performer, in the first 
class received more than either the trumpeter or minstrel. 

Harps were a sort of heir looms, and were sometimes very old. The 
Caledonian harp before described, carries evidence in its shattered state, 
of its antiquity and ill usage. Mr. Gunn, in his "Enquiry," has the 
following passage on this subject: — " I have been favored with a copy 
of an ancient Gaelic poem, together with the music to which it is still 
suno- in the Highlands, in which the poet personifies and addresses a very 
old harp, by asking what had become of its former lustre ? The harp 
replies^ that it had belonged to a king of Ireland, and had been present 
at many a royal banquet; that it had afi;erwards been successively in the 
possession of Dargo, son of the Druid of Baal, of Gaul, of Fillan, of 
Oscar, of O'Duine, of Diarmid, of a physician, of a bard, and lastly of 
a priest, ' who, in a secluded corner, was meditating on a white book.' " 

The PIPE is a most ancient instrument of music. It was well known 
to the Trojans and Greeks, among whom there were different sorts for 
Dorian, Lydian, and Phrygian measures; but the addition of a bag and 
accompanying drones or burdens, must have been an invention of sub- 
sequent times. Theocritus, who flourished 385 A. C, mentions it in 
his Pastorals, and Procopius describes it as having both the skin and 
the wood extremely fine. Pronomus, the Theban, is said, by Pausan- 
ias, to have been the first that played the different measures at once on 
one pipe. 

There is at Rome, a fine Greek sculpture, in basso relievo, represent- 
ing a piper playing on an instrument bearing a close resemblance to the 
Highland bagpipe. The Greeks, unwilling as they were to surrender 
to others the merit of useful inventions, acknowledge, that to the barba- 
rians, i. e. the Celts, they owed much of their music, and many of its 
instruments. The Romans, who, no doubt, borrowed the bagpipe from 
the Greeks, used it as a martial instrument among their infantry.* It is 
represented on several coins, marbles, &c. ; but from rudeness of execu- 
tion, or decay of the materials, it is difficult to ascertain its exact form. 
On the reverse of a coin of the Emperor Nero, who thought himself an 
admirable performer on it, and who publicly displayed his abilities, the 
bagpipe is represented. An ancient figure, supposed to be playing on 
it, has been represented, and particularly described by Signor Macari, 
of Cortona, and it is engraved in Walker's History of the Irish Bards, 
but it does not, in my opinion, appear to be a piper. A small bronze 

' Vano calls it Pythaula, a word of Greek derivation, and not dissimilar to the Cel 
tie piob-mhala, pronounced piovala. 



THE BAGPIPES. 419 

figure, found at Richborough, in Kent, and conjectured to have been an 
ornament of horse furniture, is not much more distinct. Mr. King, who 
has engraved three views of it, and others, believe it to represent a bag- 
piper, to which it has certainly more resemblance than to " a person 
drinking out of a leathern bottle." 

The bagpipe, of a rude and discordant construction, is in common use 
throughout the East, and that it continues the popular instrument of the 
Italian peasant is well known. In this country it is the medium through 
which the good Catholics show their devotion to the Virgin Mother, who 
receives their adoration in the lengthened strains of the sonorous Piva. 
It is a singular but faithful tradition of the church, that the shepherds who 
first saw the infant Jesus in the barn, expressed their gladness by play- 
ing on their bagpipes. That this is probable and natural will not be denied, 
but the illuminator of a Dutch missal, in the library of King's College, 
Old Aberdeen, surely indulged his fancy when he represented one of the 
appearing angels likewise playing a salute on this curious instrument. 
The Italian shepherds religiously adhere to the laudable practice of their 
ancestors, and, in visiting Rome and other places to celebrate the ad- 
vent of our Saviour, they carry the pipes along with them, and their 
favorite tune is the Sicilian mariners, often sung in Protestant churches. 

" It is a popular opinion that the Virgin Mary is very fond, and is an 
excellent judge of music. I received this information on Christmas 
morning, when I was looking at two poor Calabrian pipers, doing their 
utmost to please her and the infant in her arms. They played for a full 
hour to one of her images, which stands at the corner of a street. All 
the other statues of the Virgin, which are placed in the streets, are 
serenaded in the same manner every Christmas morning. On my in- 
quiring into the meaning of that ceremony, I was told the above-men- 
tioned circumstance of her character, which, though you have always 
thought' highly probable, perhaps you never before knew for certain. 
My informer was a pilgrim, who stood listening with great devotion to 
the pipers. He told me, at the same time, that the Virgin's taste was 
too refined to have much satisfaction in the performance of these poor 
Calabrians, which was chiefly intended for the infant, and he desired me 
to remark, that the tunes were plain, simple, and such as might natu- 
rally be supposed agreeable to the ear of a child of his time of life."* 

Some writers suppose the Highlanders derived the bagpipe from the 
Romans, while others think it was received from the Northern nations. 
Giraldus Cambrensis does not appear to have found it among the Scots, 
except he means it by the chorus, an instrument of the Welsh also. 
The term may be used to express a chord of pipes, a conjecture that is 
supported by the inability of antiquaries to tell us what else it can be. 
The chord at any rate is not mentioned by him as an instrument of 
the Irish, but the writers of that country think the bagpipe was known 
very anciently. The Cuisley ciuil is believed to have been a simple 

* Moore's View of Society and Manners in Italy. Letter 52. 



420 THE BAGPIPES. 

sort, but Walker and others acknowledge that the bagpipe was intro 
duced from Scotland. 

It seems impossible to trace its origin among the Scots, but it is un- 
doubtedly of great antiquity. Without deducing it from other nations, 
we may reasonably presume that in a country to which it has been so 
long peculiar, it was from its primitive simplicity, gradually brought to 
its present perfection: that the chanter was an improvement of the sim- 
ple pastoral reed, to which the drones, a happy accompaniment, were 
subsequently added. The great Highland pipe is, perhaps, the only 
national instrument in Europe; every other maybe found common to 
many countries, but this is used in Scotland alone. "In halls of joy, 
and in scenes of mourning, it has prevailed; it has animated her warriors 
in battle, and welcomed them back after their toils, to the homes of their 
love and the hills of their nativity. Its strains were the first sounded on 
the ears of infancy, and they are the last to be forgotten in the wander- 
ings of age. Even Highlanders will allow that it is not the gentlest 
of instruments; but when far from their mountain homes, what sounds, 
however melodious, could thrill round their heart like one burst of their 
own wild native pipe ? The feelings which other instruments awaken, 
are general and undefined, because they talk alike to Frenchmen, Span- 
iards, Germans, and Highlanders, for they are common to all; but the 
bagpipe is sacred to Scotland, and speaks a language which Scotsmen 
only feel. It talks to them of home and all the past, and brings before 
them, on the burning shores of India, the wild hills and ofi; frequented 
streams of Caledonia, the friends that are thinking of them, and the 
sweethearts and wives that are weeping for them there ! and need it be 
told here, to how many fields of danger and victory its proud strains have 
led! There is not a battle that is honorable to Britain in which its war 
blast has not sounded. When every other instrument has been hushed 
by the confusion and carnage of« the scene, it has been borne into the 
thick of battle, and, far in the advance, its bleedmg but devoted bearer, 
sinking on the earth, has sounded at once encouragement to his country- 
men and his own coronach."* 

How many anecdotes might be given of the effects of this instrument 
on the hardy sons of Caledonia? In the war in India, a piper in Lord 
Mac Leod's regiment, seeing the British army giving way before supe- 
rior numbers, played, in his best style, the well known Cogadh na Sith, 
which filled the Highlandei's with such spirit, that, immediately rallying, 
they cut through their enemies. For this fortunate circumstance, Sir 
Eyre Coote, filled with admiration, and appreciating the value of such 
music, presented the regiment with fifty pounds, to buy a stand of pipes. 
At the battle of Quebec, in 1760, the troops were retreating in disorder, 
and the general complained to a field officer in Eraser's regiment of the 
bad conduct of his corps, '•' Sir," said the officer, with a degree of 
warmth, "you did very wrong in forbidding the pipers to play; nothing 

* Preface to Mac Donald's Ancient Martial Music of Caledonia. 



THE BAGPIPES. 421. 

inspirits the Highlanders so much, even now they would be of some use." 
'• Let them blow in God's name, then," said the general; and the order 
being given, the pipers with alacrity sounded the Cruinneachadh, on 
which the Gael formed in the rear, and bravely returned to the charge. 
George Clark, now piper to the Highland Society of London, was piper 
to the 71st regiment at the battle of Vimiera, where he was wounded in 
the leg by a musket ball as he boldly advanced. Finding himself disa- 
bled, he sat down on the ground, and, putting his pipes in order, called 
out, " Weel, lads, I am sorry I can gse nte farther wi you, bit deel hce 
my saul if ye sail want music;" and struck up a favorite warlike air, 
with the utmost unconcern for anything, but the unspeakable delight of 
sending his comrades to battle with the animating sound of the pio- 
brachd. 

It is a popular tradition, that the enemy anxiously level at the pipers, 
aware of the power of their music; and a story is related of one, who, at 
the battle of Waterloo, received a shot in the bag before he had time to 
make a fail beginning, which so roused his Highland blood, that, dash- 
ing his pipes on the ground, he drew his broadsword, and wreaked his 
vengeance on his foes with the fury of a lion, until his career was stop- 
ped by death from numerous wounds. It is related of the piper major 
of the 92nd, on the same occasion, that, placing himself on an eminence 
where the shot was flying like hail, regardless of his danger, he proudly 
sounded the battle air to animate his noble companions. On one occa- 
sion, during the peninsular war, the same regiment came suddenly on 
the French army, and the intimation of their approach was as suddenly 
given by the pipers bursting out their gathering. The effect was instan- 
taneous; the enemy fled, and the Highlanders pursued. 

The use of the bagpipe in war is very ancient among the Highlan- 
ders. Its fitness for the tumult of battle must have given it an early 
preference over the harp, and led, from the military state in which the 
Gael were so long placed, to the disuse of the latter.* Robertson, in 
his Enquiry into the Fine Arts, says, that pipe music is the voice of up- 
roar and misrule, and that the airs calculated for it seem to be those of 
real nature and of rude passion. Its correspondence with the feelings 
may have increased the influence of pipe music over the Highlanders, 
but their partiality does not depend on this; for although its use in in- 
spiring courage in battle was unparalleled and held indispensable, yet it 
was equally in request for the exhilaration of wedding and other parties, 
expressing sorrow on occasion of death or misfortune, and amusing the 
shepherd in the solitude of his avocations. At all rural occupations in 
the Highlands it has been observed that labor is accompanied by sing- 
ing. Where music can be had, it is preferred. A piper is ofl;en regu- 
larly engaged in harvest to animate the reapers, and he generally keeps 
behind the slowest worker. 

* The Athenians rejected the use of pipes, as they w^re not only a hindrance to dis- 
course but to hearing. Major represents the Scots at Bannockburn as using tubee, 
-itui, and cornua 



4^2 PIPE MUSIC. 

The effect is not confined to the mountaineers, for the inhabitants of 
the Low Country are equally partial to it; and even those of the South- 
ern parts of the island are not unmoved by the tones of a vi^ell-played 
Highland bagpipe. When the Margrave of Anspach was on a visit to 
Duff House, he was entertained by this instrument, and on being asked 
how he liked the piobrachd, he confessed the effect of the bold rapid 
and intricate measures, by placing his hand on his heart, and intimating 
the emotion which he experienced. 

The piobrachd, as its name implies, is properly a pipe tune, and is 
usually the Cruinneachadh, or gathering of a clan, being a long piece 
of music composed on occasion of some victory, or other fortunate cir- 
cumstance in the history of a tribe, which, when played, is a warning for 
the troops to turn out. There are, however, other classes of this sort 
of music, which generally pass by the same name, but which in reality 
are, or ought to be, used for particular purposes. Some of these had 
their origin in similar events to the cuairt piobrachd, or regular gather- 
ing, and are of the same character, but are properly a cumhadh, coro- 
nach, or lament, and a failte, salute, or welcome. The first has been 
composea >n the death of some celebrated chief, and is played at the 
funeral of his successors and others of the clan, and the second has been 
composed on the birth of a chief, or gentleman of a clan, his baptism, 
arrival at age, marriage, or other happy event, and was played on like 
occasions to his successors, and when the chief, or colonel of a clan, 
came on the field of muster. Although their characters are much alike, 
with the exception of the coronach, which is, of course, particularly slow, 
plaintive, and expressive, little or no attention is now paid to the distinc- 
tions, and so much has propriety been disregarded, that these pieces of 
music are frequently called "marches." Now the pipers may and do 
play piobrachd when a regiment is on the march, but it is not adapted 
for regularity, because the time varies in its different parts. A pio- 
brachd may be described as an extended piece of music adapted for the 
bagpipe, composed in celebration of a battle where the clan was success- 
ful, or composed, before the conflict commenced, to excite the warriors 
to heroism, or it was first played even in the midst of a battle, from a 
sort of inspiration produced by enthusiasm; which pieces of music be- 
come, in particular clans, consecrated to all succeeding enterprizes of 
war and occasions of festive enjoyment, when it is desirable to enliven 
the company by recalling the deeds of other years. But although clan 
gatherings are now all more or less old, pipers continued to compose 
similar music until recently. Several originated in the year 1745, as 
one by the piper of Cluny, who composed a piobrachd during the battle 
of Falkirk, which is yet well known; and later instances may not be 
'wanting, but the old gatherings retained their place, which they certain- 
ly deserve, from the true expression and genuine character of their 
music. Indeed, the composition of salutes and other piobrachds is now, 
perhaps, oftener attempted than success can warrant; and pipe musi- 



ANECDOTES OF PIPERS 423 

cians would acquire greater credit by paying more attention to the 
inimitable works of their ancestors than to their own rhapsodies. It is 
alleged, by those who are competent to form a correct opinion, that the 
present pipers are inferior to their ancestors, and are getting worse. 
There are certainly many exceptions to this assertion wheie a musical 
ear is assisted by knowledge, which the old pipers did not possess. The 
lists of competitors at Edinburgh show numerous names of clever pipers; 
and in London, Mr. Mac Kay, piper to his Royal Highness the Duke 
of Sussex, and Mr, Clark, who officiates in the same capacity, to the 
Highland Society, are excellent; but we must regret that the same cause 
which led to the decay of oral recitation, impaired our modern list of an- 
cient Gaelic music; for the former celebrated seminaries being no more, 
a considerable portion of pipe music, from having never been noted 
down, is already lost. " In less than twenty years," says Mac Donald, 
in his excellent Preface to his Gaelic Melodies, " it would be in vain to 
attempt a collection of Highland music." 

The piper, who was hereditary, held an important place in the estab- 
lishment of a chief. He had lands for his support, and was of superior 
rank to the other members of the "tail," had a gilli, or servant, who 
carried his pipes, and was esteemed, as his profession entitled him, to 
the apper^tion of a gentleman. He accompanied the chief wherever he 
went, and \ith the harper had a right to appear in all public meetings. 
He promenaded in front of the castle while the laird was dressing, at an 
early hour in the morning, and enlivened the meals either in the same 
way, or at the end of the hall.* 

A striking proof of the respect paid to this class, resembling the ven- 
eration in which the bards were held, occurred on the defeat of the Mac 
Leeds at Inverury, in Aberdeenshire, by the rebels in 1745. Mac 
Rimmon, the chief's piper, and master of the celebrated college, was, 
after a stout resistance, made prisoner. Next morning none of the 
pipers in the victorious army played through the town, as usual, and 
being asked the reason of this extraordinary conduct, they answered, 
that while Mac Rimmon was in captivity their instruments would not 
sound; and it was only upon the release of the respected prisoner that 
the musicians returned to their duty. 

Being held in so much estimation it was to be expected that they 
should become aware of their own importance, and be tenacious of their 
honor and privileges. Many instances might be recorded of their nice 
feeling upon this point. 

The captain of one of the companies of the Black Watch had receiv- 
ed orders to add a drum to his bagpipe, which could not be dispensed 

* In some towns a practice exists, derived, in all probability, from the duties of 
these musicians. In Perth, I believe, there is still a piper who plays through the 
streets at five o'clock in the morning and seven at night. The death of one of these 
performers sometime since was much regretted at the time, the music havinor an 
effect in the morning " inexpressibly soothing and delightful." — Memorabilia of Perth, 
p. 13. In Keith, an inland town of Banffshire, the same custom is retained. 



424 ANECDOTES OF PIPERS. 

with, as the Highlanders could not be made to march without it. The 
drummer was accordingly procured, between whom and the original 
musician a bitter contest arose about the post of honor. The contention 
at last grew extremely warm, and came to the ears of the captain, who 
called the parties before him to adjust their difference, and decided the 
matter in favor of the drummer, notwithstanding the warm remonstrances 
and forcible reasoning of the piper. " The devil, sir," says he, " and 
shall a little rascal that beats upon a sheepskin take the right hand of 
me, who am a musician? " 

Perhaps this is the first instance of a drummer being placed in a 
Highland regiment; formerly they had none, and, although they were 
used in 1745, the pipers outnumbered them beyond comparison, for, 
wherever they found one who could perform on this instrument, they 
compelled him to follow them, and Prince Charles is said to have been 
entertained by thirty-two, who marched before his tent during meals. 
Some of the unfortunate pipers who were taken on the suppression of 
the rebellion, thought they could effectually plead that, being only 
pipers, they had not carried arms against his Majesty, but it was decided 
that their pipe was an instrument of war. Mac Donnel, the famous 
Irish piper, lived in great style, keeping servants, horses, &,c. In the 
" Recollections" of O'Keefe, the following anecdote is given: "One 
day that I and a very large party dined with Mr. Thomas Grant, at Cork, 
Mac Donnel was sent for, to play for the company during dinner. A 
table and chair were placed for him on the landing outside the room, a 
bottle of claret and glass on the table, and a servant waiting behind the chair 
designed for him, the door being left wide open. He made his appear- 
ance, took a rapid survey of the preparation for him, filled his glass, 
stepped to the dancing room door, looked full into the room, said ' Mr. 
Grant, your health, and company! ' drank it off, threw half-a-crown on 
his little table, saying to the servant, ' there, my lad, is two shillings for 
my bottle of wine, and sixpence for yourself He ran out of the house, 
mounted his hunter, and galloped off, followed by his groom! " This 
was a remarkable case; all pipers, though comfortable enough, had not 
quite so much of the good things of this life. I recollect an eccentric 
but respectable minstrel, who perambulated Aberdeen, Banff, Moray, 
Kincardine, and adjoining counties, delighting the families he visited 
by his melodies, and gratifying them by his amusing compositions, for 
he woed the muses. , Poor Clark, although aware of his abilities, was 
not so independent as Mac Donnel, but would play and rhyme con amove 
to his friends for a lee lang day, and good Uumoredly tell his entertain- 
ers, at the close of a panegyric, 

" T maun gang hame, the nicht's growin' dark, 
Your humble servant, Kennedy Clark." 
Whilst other professions, with the exception of the bard, might be 
adopted at pleasure, the piper was obliged to serve a regular appren- 
ticeship. The most Celebrated seminary for instruction was kept in tho 



COMPETITION OF PIPERS. 425 

Isle of Sky by the Mac Rimmons, hereditary pipers to the chiefs of Mac 
Leod. They held certain lands, from time immemorial, for the duty of 
attending the chief and his clan, and increased their income by pupils, 
who spent seven years in perfecting themselves for pipers, and the mas- 
ters never admitted a student, it is said, who had not an ear for music. 
In the Highlands, however, such an individual was not likely to be met 
with. 

The Mac Rimmons have long since ceased to play for their chief, or 
give instructions to youth. Captain Mac Rimmon died lately in Essex, 
at an advanced age, and the descendant of those celebrated pipers is 
now, I believe, a respectable farmer in Kent, 

The Mac Carters were the hereditary pipers of the Mac Donalds of 
the Isles, and a descendant was long established in Edinburgh as a pro- 
fessor of that branch of music, and was attended by several scholars. 

There was a branch of the Mac Gregors established in Rannach who 
were celebrated musicians, and afforded instruction to the chief part of 
the pipers of the central Highlands, as those of the house of Mac Pher- 
son, of Cluny, &c. This tribe, from their extensive knowledge of his- 
tory, were termed Clan an sgeulaich, or tellers of tales, which proves 
that pipers were anciently qualified in that part of the bardic duties. 

The care of the Highland Societies of London and Scotland, to en- 
courage the preservation and perfection of pipe music by periodical com- 
petitions, and the award of various prizes of considerable value, has 
done much to revive the popularity of the bagpipe. The interesting 
performances, which are held at the theatre, are numerously attended, 
and the audience are transported with feelings of enthusiasm when the 
performers, in all the imposing effect of costume and thrilling war notes, 
are on the stage. The plan is, to intersperse dancing with the music, 
and may be thus shortly described. The exhibition is divided into acts, 
and commences with a salute to the Society, by its piper, which is fol- 
lowed by a Highland dance. Then three or more of the competitors 
play each a piobrachd, when another dance leads to the performance of 
two or three piobrachds, by as many pipers. The second act is also 
three or four piobrachds, a dance, two or three piobrachds, and a dance; 
and the third act is similar, the only difference being in the dancing, 
which is sometimes Strathspey, sometimes Reel, &c. The judges then 
retire to determine the prizes, which are also given for dress, during 
which time the audience are entertained by a salute. The prizes, being 
determined, are delivered by the president, when a dance forms the con- 
clusion. Ten or fifteen other Highlanders usually appear, who are 
rewarded by a share of the money received by the sale of tickets. 

Every piper must give a list of not fewer than twelve piobrachds which 
he can play, from which the committee select one. At the competition 
in 1829, there appeared twenty-five pipers, whose twelve tunes would 
amount to three hundred, but there were only one hundred and three 
different, which is certainly a small proportion, but perhaps not so sur 
54 



426 PIOBRACHD DESCRIBED. 

prising when the length of these pieces are taken into consideration, the 
few that have ever been noted in musical characters, and the small time 
that can now be devoted to the acquirement of music taught only by 
the ear. 

A piobrachd will be nnderstood by those to whom " The Battle of 
Prague," and similar pieces of that class of music, are familiar. It 
opens with a certain measure called the urlar, subject, or groundwork 
of the piece, and by variations of this air, sometimes extending to great 
length, the piece is completed. The different parts are meant to express 
the various feelings according with the transaction, such as the rising 
to battle, the tumultuous collision of the combatants, the cries of the 
wounded, and wailing of their relations; and, finally, the exultation for 
victory, or lamentation for defeat. After each part is gone through, the 
opening strain is repeated, and invariably concludes the piece. This, 
which is observable in poetry, is allied to the " pugnavibus ensibus," 
which introduces every stanza in the celebrated song of Regner Lod- 
brog, and would seem intended to recall the mind to a certain stage in 
the enterprise on which it can rest with unalloyed satisfaction. 

This sort of music cannot, however, be appreciated by many, who 
erroneously imagine it to be a mere voluntary, played as the taste and 
fancy of the performer may dictate. The late Duke of Gordon used to 
relate an anecdote, with much humor, which came under his own obser- 
vation. In a town, in the north of England, a piper played a piobrachd 
which wonderfully excited the attention of his hearers, who seemed 
equally astonished at its length, and the wildness and apparent discon- 
nexion of the parts. Unable to understand it, yet desirous of gratifying 
their curiosity, one of the spectators, at the conclusion of the perform- 
ance, anxiously intreated the piper to " play it in English." 

When the urlar, which most generally is in common time, is played, 
the siubhal, or variation, first succeeds, of which there is most usually a 
doubling, and often a trebling, the time quickening, and the last, being 
generally termed taorluidh, or fast movement; the urlar, like a chorus, 
is then repeated, and variation second commences. I shall finish the 
description from " Cean na drochait bige,"orthe Clans' Gathering, a 
piobrachd composed at the battle fought by Montrose at Inverlochy, in 
1645. The second variation has both doubling and trebling, after which 
IS the urlar, and then the third variation, with its doubling, trebling, and 
closing strain. The fourth variation has only a doubling, and the repe- 
tition of the urlar leads to the crunluath, or round, quick, and yielding 
movement, which has its doubling, trebling, and quadrupling, the latter 
part, in t time, being in the style of music known in Gaelic by the term 
cliathluath, which is " the quickest of all runnings," and extends through 
sixty-four bars, the piece closing with the opening strain additional. 

It is to be observed, in explanation of the musical terms applicable to 
the bagpipe, that the taorluidh is - time; the crunluath is also of thai 
time, but the crunluath fosgilt, "an open running," and crunluath 



PIOBRACHDS. 427 

breabich, " a smart and starting running," are in common time, while 
the clialhluath may be either in ~, ~, or |.* 

A short list of some well known piobrachds and porsts, or airs, with 
an accomit of their origin, may not be unacceptable. 

CRUINNEACHADH, OR GATHERINGS. f 

Of Cogadh na sith, "war or peace," the history appears to be un- 
known, but it is supposed to indicate a determination either to obtain 
honorable peace, or engage in immediate war, and is peculiar to no 
clan. 

Piobrachd Mhic Dhonuil dhubh was the war tune of Black Donald 
Balloch of the Isles, when preparing for the battle of Inverlochy, in 
1427, and Cean na drochait mhoridh was composed during the battle, 

Ruaig Ghlinn Bhruin was composed on the rout of the Colquhons, 
by the Mac Gregors, in 1602. 

Gill Chriosde was played by Glengarry's piper, when, in revenge of 
the murder of Aonghas a Choile, by the men of Culloden, a number 
who had taken refuge from the exasperated Mac Donalds in a place of 
worship called Gill Chriosde, or Ghrist's church, were burned. 

Craig elachadh, the Grant's Gathering, a fine piobrachd, derives its 
name from their war cry, or place of rendezvous: a rock near Aviemore, 
in Strathspey. 

Creag dubh is, for a similar reason, the gathering of the clan Chat- 
tan; but Cluny's piper, at the battle of Falkirk, in 1745, composed a 
piobrachd which is very popular among the clan. 

The Cruinneachadh Clan Ranuil excited the Mac Donalds of Clan 
Ranald to the rising in 1715, and subsequent battle of Dumblane, or 
Sherrifmuir, where the chief was slain. 

Bodaich na m briogas, " the fellows with the breeches," commemo- 
rates a battle in which the men of Braidalban defeated the Sinclairs of 
Caithness at Wick. 

Blar Druim Thalasgair was composed on the battle of Waternish, in 
the Isle of Sky. 

Thogail nam bo, " We come through drift to drive the prey," is the 
Mac Farlane Gathering. 

Spaidseareachd, and Biorlin tighearna Cholla, are those of the Mac 
Leans, of Coll; and Spaidseareachd Siosalaich Strathglais, is that of 
Chisholm, of Strathglas. 

The Forbes' Gathering is now known by the local words, which begin 
" Ca'Glenernan, gather Glennochty," and seems the air which has been 
appropriated to the " Locheil's warning" of Campbell. There is another 
tune, called Glenernan, having every characteristic of a piobrachd. 

* Mac Donald's Martial Music of Caledonia. 

^ Called also Porst tiannal. It is to be regretted that we are never likely to see the 
historical accounts promised by Mr. Mac Donald, his son, who was to superintend the 
work, being unfortunately dead. 



428 PIOBRACHDS. 



PAILTE, OR SALUTES. 



Failte Phrionsa was composed by John Mac Intyre, piper to Menzies, 
of Menzies, on the landing of King James in 1715. There was also a 
welcome of Prince Charles to the Isle of Sky, and a Salute on his land- 
ing at Moidart in 1745. 

Ghlas mheur is an ancient piobrachd, composed by RaonuU Mac 
Ailean oig, a Mac Donald of Morar, to which there is a wild traditional 
account attached. 

Moladh Mari, or Mary's Praise, is an animated piece throughout. 
It was composed by the Mac Lachlan family piper, and is the clan 
salute. 

The Mac Donalds of Bolsdale have a salute composed when Alastair 
More, the first of the title, took possession of his estate. 

The Menzies, the Mac Kenzies, the Mac Donalds of Clan Rannald, 
the Mac Gregors, the Mac Kays, the Frasers, &c. Stc. have also their 
appropriate salutes. 

An Groatha was composed on the baptism of Rory More, son of Mac 
Leod of Dunvegan, and another salute was composed at the birth of a 
son of the same family in 1715, 

Leannan Donald Gruamaich, " Grim Donald's sweetheart," is also 
a salute of very ancient origin. 

CUMHADH, OR LAMENTS. 

Siubhal Shemis was composed on the departure of King James in 
1688. There is also a lament for Prince Charles. 

Cumhadh mhic a' Arisaig, or Mac Intosh's Lament, is extremely 
plaintive and expressive. 

Mac Leod of Mac Leod, had not only a peculiar Cumhadh, but the 
family piper composed one which is still very popular, on his own situa- 
tion after the battle of Sherrifmuir, where he was left on the field strip- 
ped of all his clothes. The unfortunate bard entitles it " Too long in 
this condition." Pipers, as was becoming, were honored with long and 
very affecting funeral dirges, one of which is on the last mentioned, who 
was designated "Great Patrick." There is a " Doleful Lament" on 
the death of Samuel, a celebrated piper, and another very beautiful one 
for John Donn, who was a poet. 

Donald Gruamach, of Slate, laments in woful and protracted strains 
the loss of his brother, and the before-mentioned Mac Donald, of Morar, 
is commemorated in a well-known plaintive and popular coronach. 

The Sister's Lament for her Brothers, one being the chief of the house 
of Keppoch, who were barbarously murdered, and whom she did not sur-^ 
vive many hours, may be supposed of a very melancholy cast, but it is 
not long. 



PIOBRACHDS. 429 

There is a Lament for a Duke of Hamilton, and another for one Bri- 
an O'Duff, and Cumhadh Chlaidheamh is the aged warrior's regret that 
he was no longer able to wield his sword. This last of only two parts, 
is accounted a piobrachd, and, contrary to the opinion of some pipers, 
I believe that many tunes which are not admitted to this class ought to 
be so ranked. Some of the parts may be lost. 

Fuair mi pog o laimh an Righ, composed on having had the honor to 
kiss hands with the king, is presumed to be a salute; but can Colda mo 
run, played to warn the piper's master from the danger he was in of fall- 
ing into the hands of his enemies, be called a salute, or a lament.'' They 
are piobrachds of great length and considerable merit. 

There is an ancient slow air of one measure called A mhic Iain mhic 
Sheumis, celebrating a battle between the Mac Donalds and the Mac 
Leods, and another composed on Blar leinne, or the shirt battle, fought 
at Kinloch Lochy, between the Frasers of Lovat, and Mac Donalds of 
Clanrannald, and so called from the parties having stripped to their 
shirts. There is a fine lament, called " The Chieftains," to which words 
are sung on the unfortunate death of the colonel of Glengarry's regiment, 
who fell in the streets of Falkirk after the victory, by the accidental dis- 
charge of the gun of one of Clan Rannald's men. The horrid murder 
of the Keppoch family was lamented, besides the piobrachd, in a slow 
and pathetic song of three unequal measures, called Keppach na fasich, 
or " Desolate." 

" The Spraith of the Lowlands now graze in the Glen" must have been 
sung with joy on the celebration of many a successful descent, and " the 
Fiery cross" was admirably expressive of the effects of its appearance. 

Of Ossianic music, several pieces are attributed to the bard, or bear 
his name, and have been sung to the poems and native songs time imme- 
morial. Dan Ossian; Ossian an deigh nam Fion; Dan Fraoich; Tha 
Sgeul beag agam air Fion; Dargo; Bas Dhiarmid a 'Duine; Maol Don 
aidh; Oscar's Ghost; Manus, and others, may be enumerated; many of 
which were collected between 1715 and 1745, by Mac Donald, Fraser, 
and others. 

The following is a list of the piobrachds and other military music of 
the Mac Kenzies, still preserved and entered, I am assured in the or- 
derly book of the 72nd regiment, the first that was raised from the clan: — 

Day Break .. .. .. .. Surachan. 

Cruinneachdh, gathering, or turn out .. Tulloch Ard. 

Salute when the Chief comes on the Field .. Failte mhic Coinnich. 

Slow March .. .. .. .. An Cuilfliionn. 

Quick March .. .. .. .. Caisteal Donnan. 

The Charge .. .. .. .. Caber Feidh. 

While Engaged .. .. .. .. Blar Strom. 

Coronach played when burying the Dead .. Cumhadh mhic Coinnich. 

Sunset .. .. .. .. Siubhal clann Choinnich. 

Tattoo .. .. .. .. Ceann drochait Aelin. 

Warning half an hour before Dinner .. Blar ghlinn Seille. 

When Dinner is on the Table .. Cath sleibh an t' Shiora. 



430 PIOBRACHDS. 

It is remarkable that the Gael of Ireland have no music of the descrip- 
tion of piobrachd. That singular piece called Mac Allisdrum's March, 
which has latterly been connected with Cath Eachroma, or the battle ^f 
Aghrim, has been deemed a genuine Irish piobrachd; but the intelligent 
Mr. Croker, in his " Researciies," has shown that it is a Scots' compo- 
sition. Alexander Mac Donald, or Allisdrum, commanded a party of 
Highlanders in the Irish service under Lord Taafe, at the engagement 
with the Parliament army, near Mallow, 13th Nov. 1647, where they 
fought manfully, but were all cut to pieces, or, as some say, murdered 
in cold blood, their skulls and bones being yet to be seen piled up in the 
ruins of a neighboring abbey. This composition is still popular, and 
may be partially seen in the works of Walker and Croker. After the 
urlar, or air, is played, the four provincial cries are performed: theGair 
Chonnachtach, Gair Muimhneach, Gair OUtach, and Gair Laighneach; 
after which the Gall na mna' san ar, lamentations of the women while 
searching the field for their husbands and relations, succeed, the whole 
concluding with a loud shout, as supposed from the auditors. The 
Irish certainly used our national instrument in war, at least in Derrick's 
time, who says that when the pipers perceived defeat inevitable, they 
sounded a retreat, and in another passage we find that "the bagpipe 
then insteade of tromp, did lull the backe retreate." The Scots had, 
however, so much to do in the then affcirs of Ireland, that he may in 
this case be speaking of them. Other airs of great antiquity and beauty 
they possess in sufficient number, among which may be mentioned Cumh 
leinn, Ailein a ruin, Gramachree Molly, Stc, and in those called Speic, 
or humors, they excel. 

The Welsh are also destitute of this peculiar style of music, although 
they have military airs of high antiquity and interest: — the " Monks' 
march," and " Come to battle," are powerful. Besides warlike melo- 
dies and coronachs, they have much of a peculiar cast, and their Penyl- 
lion singing with the harp seems peculiarly their own. The Gorleg yr 
Halen, or " Prelude of the salt," played to the renowned King Arthur, 
is yet performed in the Welsh school, Gray's-inn-lane-road. 

The Scots have been from the beginning of history celebrated for 
musical genius, and of that sort which Geminiani declared could not 
be otherwise found on this side the Alps, and as poetry and music are 
inseparably connected, they were consequently renowned for both. The 
knowledge which the bards possessed of these sister arts was cultivated 
by the Christian priests, and a reference to Bale, Leland, Dempster, 
and others, will show the very great numbers of those who excelled. 
The whole nation was in fact declared to be musical, and the Scots' min- 
strels were much superior to English writers, there being not one poem 
which can with certainty be ascribed to an English poet previous to the 
time of Chaucer.* An old author declares with much naivete, that a 
great many of both sexes in the Highlands had a gift of poesy, and could 

* Ellis's Metrical Romances, i. 130. 



FACILITY OF COMPOSITION. ^-^l 

form a panegyric or satire extempore, without any thing stronger than 
water to raise their fancies. They had certainly a strong propensity to 
turn every thing into rliyme, which they could as easily adapt to music, 
as has been before shown: many tunes, and even long pieces of music 
having been composed in a short space of time, and under unpropitious 
circumstances. The harpers were so noted for this facility, that it pass- 
ed into a proverb: — " where would be the melodies the harpers could 
not find.^ " A piper of St. Kilda composed a tune of the notes of a bird 
called the Gawlin, which was reckoned a very fine piece of music, and 
we have the swan's mournful ditty: — 

Luineag na h Ealui' 
Gui eug i, gui eug o, 
Sgeula' mo dhunach, 

Gui eug i 
Riun mo liere, 

Gui eug o, &c. 

We have even the mermaid's song, and perhaps those of other sirens 
have been composed, with the fisherman's song for attracting seals, &c. 
Music has at times produced effects on the Highlanders, in some degree, 
like the lyre of Orpheus. The celebrated Mac Pherson, who h^s been 
mentioned in the first part of this work, composed his " Farewell," and 
played it, when proceeding to the place of execution; and some other 
Highlanders have requested, as a last favor, permission to play their pipes. 
When old Lovat was taken by Captain Campbell, of Achacrosan-, it is 
said that, unaffected by his situation, it afforded him the highest delight 
to hear the pipers playing his family march, as he was conveyed across 
the country. The bagpipes seem to charm even the brute creation. 
Deer will be arrested by their sound, and stand listening with evident 
pleasure; and cattle that are otherv>^ise unmanageable, will be rendered 
calm by a spring on the shepherd's pipe. The story of the piper of 
Hamelin, whose instrument had such power, is well known ; on one oc- 
casion, he charmed an immense number of rats into a river where they 
were drowned, but not receiving the stipulated reward, he speedily col- 
lected as many and carried them to the same place. 

About the beginning of the sixteenth century, Mac Lean, of Coll, had 
been carried off by Allan Mac Lean, who received the appellation of na 
sohp, or "of the wisp," in allusion to his burnings. Coll was a poet 
and musician, and when in prison he composed a tune, still, I believe, 
preserved, under the name of "Allan na Sohp's march," which having 
sung with much grace, his stern enemy was so moved that he immedi- 
ately gave him his liberty. 

The following " Ode to Scotish Music," by a ()oet who is now almost 
forgotten, but whose merit deserves commemoration,* displays, in beau- 
tiful lines, the eflfect of the national melodies: — 

* Mac Donald, better known as Matthew Bramble, the author of Vimonda, &c. 



433 ODE TO SCOTISH MUSIC. 

" What words, my Laura, can express 
That power unknown, that magic spell 
Thy lovely native airs possess, 
When warbled from thy lips so well, 
Such nameless feelings to impart. 
As melt in bliss the raptured heart. 

No stroke of art their texture bears, 
No cadence wrought with learned skill; 
And though long worn by rolling years, 
Yet, unimpaired, they please us still ; 
Wliile thousand strains of mystic lore 
Have perished, and are heard no more. 

Wild, as the desert stream they flow, 
Wandering along its mazy bed ; 
Now, scarcely moving, deep and slow, 
Now, in a swifter current led ; 
And now along the level lawn, 
With charming murmurs, softly drawn. 

Ah ! what enchanting scenes arise, 

Still as thou breath'st the heart-felt strain ! 

How swift exulting fancy flies 

O'er all the varied Sylvan reign ! 

And how thy voice, blest maid, can move 

The rapture and the wo of love ! 

There, on a bank by Flora drest. 
Where flocks disport beneath the shade. 
By Tweed's soft murmurs lulled to rest, 
A lovely nymph asleep is laid ; 
Her shepherd, trembling, all in bliss, 
Steals, unobserved, a balmy kiss ! 

Here, by the banks and groves so green. 
Where Yarrow's waters warbling roll, 
The love-sick swain, unheard, unseen, 
Pours to the stream his secret soul ; 
Sings his bright charmer, and, by turns, 
Despairs, and hopes, and fears, and burns. 

There, night her silent sable wears. 
And gloom invests the vaulted skies. 
No star amid the void appears, 
Yet see fair Nelly blushing rise ; 
And, lightly stepping, move unseen 
To let her panting lover in. 

But far removed on happier plains. 
With harps to love forever strung, 
Methinks I see the favored swains 
Who first those deathless measures sung ; 
For, sure, I ween no courtly wight 
Those deathless measures could indite.' 



DESCRIPTION OF THE BAGPIPE. 43S 

No ! from the pastoral cot and shade 
Thy favorite airs, my Laura, came, 
By some obscure Corelli made. 
Or Handel, never known to fame ! 
And hence their notes, from Nature warm, 
Like Nature's self, must ever charm. 

Ye spirits of fire, forever gone, 
Soft as your strains, O be your sleep ! 
And, if your sacred graves were known, 
We there should hallowed vigils keep, 
Where, Laura, thou shouldst raise the lay, 
And bear our souls to heaven away I 

The pioB-MHOR, or great Highland bagpipe, is different from the com- 
mon sharp pipes of the Low country, and both are very unUke the Irish 
or flat pipes. The first, which is accurately represented in the frontis- 
piece, is by far the most noble and warlike instrument, and produces 
the most clear and ear-piercing notes. The various pipes are separate- 
ly inserted in the bag, and the drones or burdens are connected by rib- 
ands of different colors. When the bag is inflated, they are steadily 
supported over the shoulder, and the tallest displays a flag, on which is 
richly embroidered the arms of the chief, colonel of a regiment, gentle- 
man, or society, in whose service the piper may be. In the figure in- 
troduced for illustration in the frontispiece, the arms of Scotland are the 
insignia. 

These arms have been alluded to in page 196, and the Lion is there 
shown to have been a general badge of the Celtic nations. It is 
asserted by all heralds and historians of authority, that the tressure of 
fleur-de-Hs was added to the arms of Scotland by Charlemagne, to indi- 
cate his regard for the nation; but when the Unicorns were adopted as 
supporters, is not ascertained. They bear up the royal banner, and that 
of St. Andrew, and stand, as here shown, on a compartment, and not 
on an escrol, as often represented. For the " lacesset" in the motto, I 
have the authority of Sir George Mac Kenzie and other competent anti- 
quaries, and the difference from lacessit is certainly of some importance 
in this very nicely regulated science. The Scots, as is well-known, 
paid great attention to heraldry, and the whole achievement, as a speci- 
men of their skill, must be allowed to have a good effect, even pictori- 
ally. The ensign of Scotland, that is, a thistle of gold imperially crown- 
ed, is represented on the title-page. The Highland Society of London 
have a pipe flag of beautiful workmanship and rich effect. Those who 
have no flag usually display party-colored ribands, which have a very 
pretty appearance streaming in the wind. They are often presented by 
the musician's sweetheart, and are of course exhibited with becoming 
pride. 

Several pipers carry their instruments on the right side, and' some are 
of opinion that it is necessary for those who have to play with others, 
because it would neither look well, nor be convenient, on a march, for 
55 



434 DESCRIPTION OF THE BAGPIPE. 

pipers to have their drones all over the same shoulder. Surely, if other- 
wise, it would look as awkward as if the soldiers carried their muskets 
.m opposite sides. We do not know the rule which prevailed in Sky, 
but a learner would most assuredly be taught to use his right hand in 
tuning. 

The pipe through which the wind is conveyed is also kept in its posi- 
tion by the tension of the bag, but the performer does not allow it to 
slip from his mouth, but retains it in an easy manner, the end being tip- 
ped with horn to prevent its being injured by the teeth. It has a joint, 
and is provided with a leather valve, which prevents the egress of air. 
The Chanter, or pipe on which the tune is performed, is like the others 
fixed in a head stock, which is sufficiently large to contain the reed. 
This is formed of two thin slips of common reed or cane, fixed with much 
nicety to a small metal tube, and produce the sound by vibration. 
Those of the other pipes are formed of a joint of the reed, one end close, 
the other open, with an oblong slit for the passage of the air, as here 
shown. 



The sharp Lowland pipes have the same tone as the Highland, 
but are less sonorous, and are blown by a bellows, put in motion 
by the arm opposite to that under which the bag is held. This is the 
manner of giving wind to the Irish pipes, like which they also have 
the three drones fixed in one stock, and not borne over the shoulder, but 
laid horizontally over the arm. The Union pipes, that have been called 
the Irish organ, are the sweetest of musical instruments; the formation 
of the reeds, and the length of the pipes, increased by brass tubes, pro- 
duce the most delightful and soothing melody, while by the addition 
of many keys, and the capability of the chanter, any tune may be 
performed. 

One George Mackay was the reformer of the Scots' Lowland pipes, 
but I cannot precisely tell the nature of his improvements; he, however, 
studied seven years at the college in Sky. 

There is a miniature sort of bagpipe, called the Northumberland, the 
advantage of which is that tliey are conveniently portable, and are much 
less noisy than the others. None of these sorts resemble the rude in- 
struments of the same kind used on the continent. 

The pipes are commonly formed of black ebony or lignum vita^; but 
woods less valuable, and less excellent for the purpose, are sometimes 
employed. The joints are handsomely tipped with ivory or bone, and 
silver ornaments and precious gems are often placed on the headstock 
of the chanter. Northumberland pipes are often wholly formed of ivory, 
and richly ornamented with silver. The bag is covered witii cloth or 
tartan, sometimes fringed, and otherwise adorned. 



DESCRIPTION OF THE BAGPIPE. 435 

A stand,* or set, of Highland pipes sometimes cost a considerable 
sum, especially if made by a celebrated tradesman, of which there are 
several in Edinburgh, Glasgow, Perth, Aberdeen, and Inverness. 

The drones are tuned by means of the movable joints to the E of the 
chanter, the two small ones being a fifth below, and the larger an eighth, 
and this preparation, called the Ludh, is what often needlessly occupies 
so much time, giving rise to that saying in the Low Country applied to 
one who procrastinates in a small affair: "You are langer o' tuning 
your pipes nor playing your spring." To be sure, the pipes must be 
put in tune; but it is the piper's duty to have them in as good order as 
possible before he is called to perform, and thereby avoid that monoto- 
nous noise and unmeaning rhapsody of notes which many feel so unpleas- 
ant. I am afraid some pipers think there is a deal of grace in those 
flourishes called "preludes of tuning, "I forms of which are actually 
taught; but I can say, that although Scotsmen may bear with them, to 
Englishmen they have no charms. 

On the chanter are nine notes, G, A, B, C, D, E, F, G, A, and a 
B may also be produced by " pinching," that is, striking the thumb nail 
in a peculiar manner in the hole of the upper note A; but Highland 
pipers do not admit this addition, but despise its assistance as much as 
they do the keys and other attempted improvements. They seem inspir- 
ed with the same feeling which led the Spartans to banish Timotheus for 
presuming to add to the strings of the lyre; and amusing anecdotes are 
told of their concern to think that the pipes should be taught by notes, 
or that they should be fettered in learning by book rules. 

The C and F in the chanter scale are sharp; and if they were omitted 
it would be the ancient Scotish scale of C major, agreeing with that of 
the black keys of the piano, but these sharps are not noticed by the per- 
former. Although the pipe can imitate different keys, they are not real, 
as in other instruments. 

As the tone of the bagpipes is continuous, the monotony is broken, 
and the notes divided by warbling, beating, or battering, as I have heard 
some call it, which is done by a sudden movement of the fingers on cer- 
tain other notes. Thus, in running up the scale, the effect is given to 
low G by smartly striking the hole under No. 1, or the fore-finger of the 
upper hand, and on sounding A the third finger counting downwards 
performs the same office. This will explain the figures inserted, accord- 
ing to the plan of Capt. Menzies, in his Pipe Preceptor, to show the 
warbling of Cogadh na sith, a sort of expression peculiar to the bagpipe, 
and productive of that indescribable thrilling in the performance of a 
good piobrachd, or of many of the other pipe tunes. 

There is an ancient and celebrated pipe in the possession of the chief 
of Clan Chattan, known as the Feadhan dubh, or black chanter, con- 
cerning which various curious particulars are recorded. 

* The absurd term, " pair of pipes," perhaps arose from many of the poorer sort, hav- 
ing formerly but two drones. It may be observed, pipers often have but two that are 
furnished with reeds. t Deachin Ghleust- 



436 FE^DHAN DUBH, OR BLACK CHANTER. 

It is believed to possess some charm or supernatural virtue, which 
ensures prosperity to its owners and their connexions. It is this instru- 
ment which Sir Walter Scott mentions as having fallen from the clouds 
during the conflict on the North inch of Perth in 1396. It appears to 
have been taken from the vanquished party at that fiercely contended 
battle. 

Three Mac Donalds, of Glenco, had, on one occasion, taken a creagh 
from Strathspey, but were overtaken by a strong party of the Grants 
near Aviemore, when they thought themselves out of danger; and while 
asleep the two elder Mac Donalds were surprised and bound, but the 
younger escaped to the woods. The Grants, on their return home, stop- 
ped about two miles from the place, and while they were refreshing and 
enjoying themselves in apparent security, the three dauntless heroes, 
who had recovered themselves and come together, attacked their ene- 
mies, svpord in hand, with such daring and resolution, that they drove 
them clean off with confusion and slaughter, killing seven and wounding 
sixteen, and rescued the whole of the cattle! The cry of the two elder 
Mac Donalds was "A mhic, a mhic, luathich do laimh 's cruadhich do 
bhuille," i. e. My son, my son, quicken and harden thy blows. 

The Laird of Grant, vexed in the highest degree at the shameful con- 
duct of his men, compelled the delinquents, for three successive Sun- 
days, to walk round the church in presence of all the rest of the clan, 
carrying wooden swords suspended by straw ropes, exclaiming, " we 
are the cowards that disgracefully ran away." The whole clan were 
disheartened by this affair, and to reanimate them, the chief sent to 
Cluny for the loan of the Feadhan dubh, the notes of which could in- 
fallibly rouse every latent spark of valor. Cluny is said to have lent 
it without hesitation, saying his men stood in no need of it. How long 
it remained with them at this time does not appear; but after it had been 
restored, the Grants again received it, and it remained with them until 
18'22, when Grant of Glenmorriston presented it to Ewen Mac Pherson, 
Esq. of Cluny, the present worthy chief* It is probable that the last 
loan of this wonderful chanter was made to the Grants of Glenmorriston, 
who had no doubt observed the happy effects of its possession among 
their brethren in Strathspey. This clan had, however, an opinion of 
their own prowess, that would seem to render it improbable they should 
require such aid, and had, besides, some particular charm by which 
they rendered themselves invulnerable; in which belief they fearlessly 
engaged in war, and, in truth, acted hke heroes; although the writer of 
a MS. history of the clan, which I have seen in the King's Library, 
sneeringly says, they prevented their charm from working at the battle 
of Sherifmuir, by making a speedy retreat. 

The Mac Phersons assuredly, whether in consequence of their fortu- 
nate talisman or their own bravery, have never been in a battle which 
was lost, at least where the chief was present. Before the battle of 
Culioden, an old witch, or second seer, told the Duke of Cumberland, 

* His letter to the author. 



DANCING. 437 

that if he waited until the bratach uaine, or green banner, came up, he 
would be defeated. 

The cultivation and practice of poetry and music are chief amuse- 
ments of the Gael, and connected with both is dancing. If the Scots 
excel in the former, they certainly of all nations are preeminent in par- 
tiality to the latter. Their passion for this pleasing and healthy exer- 
cise is indeed so strong, that it seems part of their nature. The art of 
dancing, which a person without a musical ear can never attain, is a 
harmonious adaptation of the bodily powers to time and measure, accom- 
panied with grace, ease, expression, position, &c. ; yet the Scots have 
been said to be "entirely without grace" in their dances. Their agility 
may surprise, without pleasing, those who do not understand the national 
system, but that a person should be able to execute the most intricate 
and complex steps with the utmost ease, keeping the justest time, with- 
out " a particle of grace," is surely impossible. Grace, in dancing, is 
described as " fitness of parts and good attitude," and that the Highlan- 
ders possess these necessary qualifications cannot be denied; indeed, 
their aptitude for music is not more striking than their fondness for the 
national reel. 

Dancing has been practised by almost every people; it formed, in 
fact, part of the religious ceremonies of almost all nations, and the gods 
are not only said to have been pleased, but were themselves emulous in 
the dance. Pindar represents Silenus as 

" Strenuous in the dance to beat 
Tuneful measures with his feet." 

It was also encouraged as a useful and elegant amusement, and the 
Athenians reckoned those unpolite who refused to dance at a proper 
time.* Its importance as an innocent and healthful recreation rendered 
it an object of attention to the legislator. Lycurgus instituted dancing 
from a conviction of its utility in making the youth strong, agile, and ex- 
pert in the use of their weapons, and in the evolutions of warfare. This 
particular sort was accompanied with the singing of certain heroic 
verses, and was performed by the old men, the youth, and children. 
Homer mentions the art as a diversion at entertainments; and Merion, 
one of his heroes, was known among the Grecian chiefs by a grace- 
ful carriage and superior agility, acquired from his long practice of 
dancing. 

The effect of dancing and music in a moral point of view, is certainly 
considerable. Polybius attributes the hospitality and piety of the Ar- 
cadians to the care with which these two arts were cultivated, the youth 
being instructed in them at the public expense; and this influence lie 
proves from contrasting those happy people with the Cynasthians, a 
neighboring nation, that neglected so salutary regulations. Dancing 
promotes health, cheerfulness, and the kindly affections between the 
sexes, and Locke says it ought always to be taught to children, as it 

* Note in Beloes' Herodotus, vi. 



4S8 DANCING. 

gives graceful motions to all their actions, and, above all things, manli- 
ness and a becoming confidence; for this effect he cannot account, but 
his good opinion entirely coincides with that of the wisest of the ancients 
Socrates became so sensible of the good effects of this exercise, that in 
his old age he sedulously practised it; and Lucian, Plato, Aristotle, 
Athseneus, Xenophon, Plutarch, and others, have written in praise of 
it. Some of the ancient philosophers were excellent dancers, and thought 
it not unbecoming to perform in public ; Lucian even goes so far as to 
say that dancing works all the wonders ascribed to the caduceus of Mer- 
cury, being able at the same time to soothe and animate the soul. Among 
the Jews, it was a solemn religious discipline; and, as an exercise of di- 
vine worship, was of no less importance among the Greeks and Romans. 
Nor was the performance confined to the men ; when Moses had con- 
ducted the Israelites across the Red Sea, he and his sister Miriam per- 
formed a grand chorus and accompanying dance. Pliny calls the sa- 
cred dances " mediatorial." 

Of the ancient Celtic dancing we find some curious particulars. The 
Lusitani, says Diodorus, have a light and airy dance which they prac- 
tise in peace, and which requires great dexterity and nimbleness of legs 
and thighs. In war, they march, observing time and measure, and sing 
their triumphal songs when they are ready to charge the enemy. 

The passion for dancing was strong in all the Celtic race, and it was 
employed in the services of religion, some remains of which practice 
long continued among the Welsh, who were accustomed to dance in the 
church-yard. Rincefada, or field dance in Irish, shows its relation to 
Rineadoir, a musician. This was performed to the Cuisley Ciuil, a 
simple sort of bagpipe before described, and used to conclude all balls. 
When James II. landed at Kinsale, his friends received him with the 
rincefada, by which he was much gratified. The manner of its execu- 
tion was thus; — three persons abreast, holding the ends of a white hand- 
kerchief, moved forward a few paces to the sound of slow music, the 
rest of the dancers following in couples, and holding also a white hand- 
kerchief between them. The music then changing to a quicker tune, 
the dance began, the performers passing successively under the hand- 
kerchiefs of the three in front, and then wheeling round in semi-circles, 
they formed a variety of pleasing evolutions, interspersed with occasional 
entrechats, finally uniting and resuming their original places. The 
Manx are much addicted to dancing jigs and reels, in which four or five 
couple join to the music of a fiddle. English country dances are un- 
known among them. 

We are told that the military dances of the old Irish were conducted 
by the Curinky, or dancing-master, a surname that yet exists in many 
families. 

The ancient Caledonians had a sort of Pyrrhic dance over swords, 
which is not yet entirely unknown, but the Gilli-Callum, which gener- 
ally terminates a ball, is supposed to have but a faint resemblance to the 
ancient sword-dance. The same observation may be applied to the dirk- 



DANCING. 439 

dance. Both of them are, indeed, still executed by a few, and were 
exhibited in London some years ago by one Mac Glassan; but a gen- 
tleman informed me that he knew a person who at the age of 106, saw 
the dirk-dance performed, and declared it was not at all like that which 
he had formerly known. Besides these, it is evident from the words of 
an old Isle of Sky dancing song, Bualidh mi u an sa chean, " I will 
break your head," that the parties in the performance went through the 
evolutions of attack and defence. The chief art in the modern sword- 
dance consists in the dexterity with which the dancer escapes touching 
one or more swords or sticks crossed on the ground, the tune to which 
it was performed being called Gilli-Callum, and that appropriate to the 
dirk, Phadric Mac Combish. There was a dance called Rungmor, of 
which little is now known; from the only description I could get of it, 
the dancer appeared in some manner to touch the ground with his 
thighs, without losing his balance. 

In Lochaber there was formerly a gymnasium for teaching all sorts 
of athletic exercises and graceful accomplishments, the scholars eating 
at a common table, being allowed a certain time for their meals, and 
submitting to other regulations; but, without tuition, the Highlanders 
excel in dancing. A perfect judge thus expresses himself: "This 
pleasing propensity, one would think, was born with them, from the 
early indications we sometimes see their children show for this exer- 
cise. I have seen children of theirs, of five or six years of age, at- 
tempt, nay, even execute, some of their steps so well, as almost to sur- 
pass belief I once had the pleasure of seeing in a remote part of the 
country, a reel danced by a herd boy and two young girls, who sur- 
prised me much, especially the boy, who appeared to be about twelve 
years of age. He had a variety of well chosen steps, and executea 
them with so much justness and ease, as if he meant to set criticism at 
defiance;" and, speaking of the colleges of Aberdeen, where he was 
long established as an elegant and accomplished teacher of dancing, 
he adds, " they draw hither, every year, a number of students from the 
Western Isles, as well as from the Highlands, and the greater part 
of them excel in the dance; some of them indeed, in so superior a de- 
gree, that I myself have thought them worthy of imitation." 

After the toils of a long^day, young men and women will walk many 
miles to enjoy a dance, which seems to have the effect of banishing 
fatigue, and, instead of adding to the sensation of weariness, it becomes 
really a recreation. This delight in dancing is diffused throughout 
Scotland, and the strongest efforts of the kirk to put down " promiscu- 
ous dancing," with the bitter reproofs of the more rigid covenanters, 
have failed in repressing the " ungodly" exercise. 

The reel and strathspey are the dances common to all the Scots, and 
those of which they are most passionately fond. They are either a 
quartett or trio, " a foursome or a threesome reel;" and those who are 
ignorant of this species of dance will find the principal steps used in it 
plainly described by Peacock, the intelligent writer already mentioned. 



440 DANCING.— SINGLE STICK. 

It will be observed that the difference ia time between the two sorts of 
music produces a corresponding difference in the steps or evolutions. 

I shall here present the reader with a list of those most in use by the 
Highlanders. 

Ceum-siubhail, pronounced kemshoole, the forward step, is the com- 
mon step for the promenade or figure. Ceum-coisiche, or kemkossey, 
is the setting or footing step, and is divided into three sorts: first, where 
one step is equal to a bar; second, where two steps are required to a 
bar; and third, where two bars are required to a step. Leum-trasd, or 
cross springs, are a series of Sissonnes. Siabadh-trasd, chasing steps 
or cross slips, is like the ballotte. Aiseag-trasd, or cross passes, is a fa- 
vorite step in the Highlands. Ceum-Badenach is another step much 
used, and requiring considerable agility. Fosgladh, or open step, and 
Cuartag, or turning step, are also very becoming movements. All these, 
and many more are combined in one dance, and the association depends 
on the taste of the party. That called the back step, in which the feet 
are each alternately slipped behind, and reach the ground on, or close 
to, the spot occupied by the one just removed, is of difficult acquire- 
ment, and severely exerts the muscles of the calfs of the legs. So much 
dexterity can some persons display in this, that they will go through the 
setting time of the music without moving beyond a space marked by the 
circumference of their bonnet. 

Sean trius, or old trowsers, from the name of the accompanying air, 
IS the native Highland hornpipe, and is danced with much grace. 

i have seen two brothers of the name of Grant, who were good violin 
players, exhibit feats of great agility. Part of their performance con- 
sisted of dancing the Highland fling, in that style called the Marquis of 
Huntley's, Strathspeys over a rope, and Gilli-Callum over a fiddle bow: 
and one of them danced a Strathspey, played the fiddle, played bass on 
the bagpipe, smoked, spoke Gaelic, and explained it in question and 
answer at the same time! 

Dancing, among the Gael, does not depend on the presence of musical 
instruments. They reel and set to their own vocal music, or to the 
songs of those who are near; people, whose hearts are light and respon- 
sive to their native melodies, will find their limbs move in consonance to 
its music, however produced. 

Single stick, or cudgel play, was formerly taught the youth from an 
early age, as a necessary preparation for the management of the broad- 
sword, and they used in certain dances to exhibit their dexterity. Tliey 
are still partial to this amusement; in the higher parts of Aberdeen- 
shire "the young farmers," says the Rev. Skene Keith, " lik^ their 
fathers, are very expert in dancing and managing a cudgel without a 
master." 

The delight which the Gael had in the recitation of their traditional 
history was extreme. The duty of preserving and relating their legends 
was properly the province of the bards, who were supported for the 
purpose, but the whole population were accustomed to acquire the sgeu 



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GAMING. 441 

lachds, or historical narrations, and when there was no bard, the teller 
of tales, sometimes called the rhymer, a character much respected, sup- 
plied his place. 

The Irish had their cleasamhneagh, or jesters, and druith righeadh, 
or royal mimics.* We find there were in the Scots' army, in 1138, buf- 
foons and jesters, both male and female. A curious amusement is 
described in p. 400, and it has been stated elsewhere that little dramas 
and ludicrous interludes from the ancient poems, were often performed. 

An idle people are naturally prone to gaming. Tacitus, speaking of 
the Germans, says they were passionately given to play at games of 
chance, at which they continued not only until their whole substance 
was gone, but would even stake their lives, and, if they lost, would 
patiently suffer themselves to be sold, calling it honor! The brother- 
hood of Carrows, a sort of common gamblers in Ireland, resembled these 
Germans. They did nothing else but play cards all the year round, 
staking their mantles, shirts, and every thing to the bare skin, when they 
trussed themselves in straw or leaves, and in that state would wait on 
the highways with unabated desire, and invite passengers to play on the 
green. " For defaulte of other stuffe, they pawn portions of their glibe, 
the nails of their fingers and toes," and other members of their body, 
which they lose or redeem, at the courtesy of the winner. | One of the 
Irish games, called " short castle," is played by two persons, with three 
counters or pebbles on aboard marked by a cross and two diagonals, the 
game being won by getting the three on a straight line. Chess and 
drafts were favorite amusements of the Highlanders. A passage from 
a poem of Mary Mac Leod, given in p. 402, mentions the delight which 
her chief took in these games. Martin describes a set of " table men," 
carved with different figures, which he saw, that were made of a blue 
sort of stone found in Lewis, and relates a curious occurrence of sec- 
ond sight that happened when Sir Norman Mac Leod and some others 
were playing at a game of tables called Falmer-more, where three of a 
side cast dice in turn, for the disposition of the pieces. 

Hunting, which has been already described, was a favorite diversion 
of the Celts; their other amusements were chiefly of a martial charac- 
ter, and on several occasions there have been opportunities of showing 
their propensity to display their courage and address in single com- 
bat. The amusement described in page 92, so popular among the 
Germans, strikingly shows the military character of that people. The 
rude Celts had no taste for the refined pleasures of other nations, their 
only enjoyment being in those manly sports which cherished their war 
like and independent spirit. For this purpose chariot-racing and other 
sports were apparently enjoined as a religious duty, and to inspire the 
people with due ardor, the services of the bards were consecrated. 
Some Frisian ambassadors, it is related, having visited Rome, they were 
taken to the theatres, as the most attractive exhibitions, but, to the 

* Coll. reb. Hibernica. t Campion. Riche, p. 38. 

56 



442 ATHLETIC EXERCISES.— HIGHLAND GAMES. 

astonishment of the Romans, those men took not the smallest interest in 
the amusements. The Caledonians practised a sort of tournament, 
which is spoken of in old poems as " the honor of the spear," and in 
their encounter, they only asked cothrum na Feinne, " the equal com- 
bat of the Fingalians." Athletic exercises were the delight of the Gael, 
and from the chief to the lowest clansman, they vied with each other in 
generous contention, the highest individual being often the strongest and 
most accomplished in feats of prowess. An anecdote is related of a 
wrestler, who, presuming on his great strength and skill, had insulted a 
whole clan, none of whom would venture to encounter him, except the 
chief, who accepted his challenge, and succeeded in vanquishing him, 
but in the exertion he burst a blood-vessel, and shortly afterwards died. 
Besides Gleachd, or wrestling, the Highlanders contend for a short 
stick or rachd, which they endeavor to wrench out of each other's grasp. 
They also, sitting on the ground, feet to feet, and mutually holding a 
stick, endeavor each by main strength to force his opponent from the 
ground. 

The Clach-neart, literally stone of strength, or the putting stone, is 
a favorite and ancient amusement, and consists in projecting a large 
round stone to the greatest possible distance. It was formerly the cus- 
tom to have one of these lying at the gate of every chieftian's house, and 
on the arrival of a stranger, he was asked as a compliment to throw. 
Indeed, when chiefs or gentlemen called on each other, their followers 
always diverted themselves in wrestling, fencing, putting, running, &c., 
and sometimes resorted to the more serious amusement of breaking each 
other's heads in good earnest. The throwing of the stone requires both 
strength and skill, to which practice alone can give effect. 

Clach cuid fir is lifting a large stone two hundred pounds or more 
from the ground, and placing it on the top of another about four feet 
hio-h. A youth that can do this is forthwith reckoned a man, whence 
the name of the amusement, and may then wear a bonnet. 

Throwing a heavy sledge hammer is a popular trial of strength, which 
often leads the blacksmith and his customers to forget their business for 
some time. A fine trial of strength is by endeavoring to turn a heavy 
bar of iron fairly over, by placing the foot under it. 
' Swiftness of foot was reckoned a very considerable accomplishment, 
and was often of much importance in their military transactions. We 
have seen the Highlanders able to contend with cavalry in running, and 
their ability in this way had a double advantage — if they put the enemy 
to flight, it was not possible to escape their pursuit, and if themselves 
routed, it was scarcely possible to molest their retreat. The Geal ruith, 
or racing game, which comprehended the running leap, to the High- 
landers so useful an accomplishment, was sedulously practised, and the 
gilli ruith, or running footman, was capable of performing astonishing 
feats of pedestrianism, both in distance and velocity. 

Boat racing and Geal-snamh, or contests in swimming, were also, 



HIGHLAND GAMES. 443 

popular, and a native of Isla was not reckoned a man if he could not 
catch a seal when in the water. 

A truly Highland sport is Cluich-bhal, or Camanachd, called in the 
Low Country hurling or shinny, and in Ireland bandy. Great numbers 
collect on a plain, chiefly about Christmas, and dividing into parties of 
♦welve and upwards on a side, endeavor, by means of sticks, crooked 
at the lower end, to drive a ball to a certain goal. This is a very 
animated game, and is enlivened by numerous spectators, plenty of 
\vhisky, and by the presence of pipers. The balls in Argyleshire are 
often of wood ; in Badenach they are formed of hair, hard and firm- 
ly twisted. 

The Golf, called Cluich-dhesog, is a Highland game, but is more 
simple than as played in the Lowlands. Two or more persons, by means 
of clubs of a certain form, strike a small hard ball, the contest being to 
decide either who shall reach a distant spot, or put the ball into a hole 
with the fewest strokes. 

Two parties kicking a ball with the feet in opposite directions is anoth- 
er game, where much agility is required. Grand matches were formerly 
played in the Northern counties on Fasten's even, and other festivals. 
" The Christmas ba'in' of Monymusk," in Aberdeenshire, has been 
described in a poem by the Rev. John Skinner, 1739, which is wor- 
thy of comparison with the "Christ's Kirk on the Green," of King 
James I. or the productions of Allan Ramsay. 

As a humorous description of this popular diversion, which at the 
above place was formerly held in the churchyard, and, as a specimen 
of the singular dialect of that part of Scotland, which, to most readers, 
will require a glossary to be understood, a few verses, taken at random 
from the poem H»*y be thought worthy of insertion. 

Has ne'er in a' this country been 

Sic shouderin' an' sic fa'in'. 

As happen'd twa three days sin' seen, 

Here at the Christmas ba'in'. 

At even syne the follows keen 

Drank till the neist days dawin'; 

Sae snell that some tint baith their een, 

An' could na' pay their lawin' 

For a' that day. 

Rob Roy, I wat he was na' dull, 

He first leit at the ba', 

An' wi' a rap, clash'd Geordy's skull 

Hard to the steeple wa'. 

Wha was aside but auld Tam Tull, 

His frien's mischance he saw, 

He briend like ony baited bull, 

An' wi' aye thud dang twa, 

To the yird that day. 

In cam' the inset Dominie, 
Just riftin' frae his dinner, 



444 - CHRISTMAS BA'ING. 

A young mess John, as ane could see, 
Was neither saint nor sinner. 
A brattlin' band unhappilee, 
Drave by hira wi' a binner, 
An' heels-o'er-gowdy couped he, 
An' rave his gued horn penner 

In twa that day. 

A stalwart stirk in tartan claise, 
Sware mony a sturdy aith, 
To bear the ba' thro' a' his faes, 
An' n£E kape muckle skaith. 
Rob Roy heard the friksome fraise, 
Well browden'd in his graith, 
Gowph'd him alang his shins ablaise, 
An' gart him tine baith faith, 

An' feet that daw. 

The prior's man, a chiel as stark 

Amaist as giant could be. 

He kent afore o' this day's wark, 

For certain that it would be. 

He ween'd to drive in o'er the park, 

An' ilk ane thought it should be ; 

What way it was he miss'd the mark, 

I canna' tell, but fou't be, 

He fell that day 

Ere he wan out o' that foul lair, 
That black mischance had gi'en him, 
There tumbled an' unlucky pair 
O' mawtent lowns abeen him. 
It would hae made your heart fu' sair, 
Gin ye had only seen him; 
An't hadna' been for Davy Mair, 
The rascals had outdeen him, 

Belyve that day. 

When Sawney saw the Sutor slain, 
He was his ain half brither, 
~ I wot mysel he was right brain, 

An' how could he be ither ? 
He ran to help wi' might an' main, 
Twa buckled wi' him thegither, 
Wi' a firm yowph he fell'd the tane. 
An' wi' a gowph the tither, 

Fell'd him that day. 

In Monymusk was never seen, 

Sae mony well befl skins. 

O' a' the ba' men there was nane 

But had twa bleedy shins. 

Wi' streinzit sliouders mony ane 

Dree'd pennance for their sins; 

An' what was warst, scowp'd hame their lane, 

May be to hungry inns 

An' cauld that day. 



STRATH- FILLAN GAMES.— QUEEN MARY'S HARP. 



445 



The Strath-fillan Society, lately established by Lord Gwydir, on his 
Drummond estate, in Perthshire, is for the purpose of encouraging all 
sorts of games and amusements peculiar to the Highlands. The annual 
meetings are held in a romantic spot, and are attended by numerous 
noblemen, gentlemen, and ladies, with a large assemblage of Highland- 
ers. The effect of their gaudy costume, the bagpipes, and the various 
sports exhibited amid highly picturesque scenery, is extremely fine. A 
beautiful lake affords the pleasure of a boat race, and a recital of Gaelic 
compositions relieves the fatigue of the athletic exercises, while prizes 
of bagpipes, dirks, suits of tartans, snuff mulls, Stc, send the competi- 
tors home in high delight. 

Two of the Druidical order are shown at the commencement of this 
chapter. As the poets and musicians of the Celts, they occupy an ap- 
propriate place; and as a highly interesting specimen of the peculiar 
instrument which belonged to the order, the harp of Mary Queen of 
Scots is here introduced. 




CHAPTER XIV. 

RELIGION, MARRIAGE CEREMONIES, AND FUNERAL RITES. 

Druidism is one of the most ancient systems of religion. It is sup- 
posed by many to have been derived from Pythagoras, but is certainly 
of much more i-emote origin. According to Clemens Alexandrinus, 
Pythagoras was but an auditor of the Gauls. Valerius Maximus asserts 
that his opinions were those of the Celts, and lamblichus says he heard 
that his learning consisted of the Gallic and Iberian mysteries. Druid- 
ism must be a more ancient system than the time of this philosopher, 
who appears to have borrowed his tenets from it. He was, perhaps, a 
reformer of a religion that had begun to lose its original simplicity, but 
it must be borne in mind that there was a near resemblance among an- 
cient systems of religion, as there was an affinity of language and simi- 
larity of manners. Eumolpus, the Thracian, introduced the Eleusinian 
mysteries to the Greeks, who subsequently revered them so deeply. At 
this period the Athenians were beginning to distinguish themselves from 
their neighbors, and their fertile genius soon produced, from the simple 
dogmas of their ancestors, a peculiar system of theology; hence Lucian 
thought it strange that the barbarians, who introduced those mysteries, 
should be afterwards excluded from them. 

The religious connexions which the Greeks had in the most distant 
ages formed with the Hyperborei, proves that the primitive mythology 
was at first universally respected. Those people, who are believed to 
have been the inhabitants of Britain, were in the practice, from a period 
before all record, to transmit their first fruits to Delos. Eratosthenes 
relates that Apollo deposited the arrow with which he slew the Cyclops 



RELIGION. 447 

with the Hyperborei; that their high priest Abaris carried it to Greece, 
and at last presented it to Pythagoras. This story is too mysterious for 
elucidation; it is probably allegorical, but it shows the veneration which 
was in those ages paid to one religion. 

The secrecy with which the mysteries of ancient religion were preserv- 
ed is remarkable. The priest and other members concealed their know- 
ledge from the uninitiated with the most scrupulous care, which, in most 
cases, arose from feelings of real piety. Those who did not value their 
oaths of secrecy must have been deterred from divulging their secrets 
by the fear of detection and consequent execration and punishment. 
The dark allusions to the mysteries of pagan theology occasion a reo-vet 
that they are now unknown. " I shall not relate what I know," says 
Pausanias, "from the mysteries of the mother of the gods, concerning 
Mercury and the Ram;" again, "who the Cabiri are, and what the 
ceremonies performed in honor of them and the mother of the gods, I 
must beg those who are desirous of hearing such particulars to suffer me 
to pass over in silence;" farther he adds, Ceres deposited something with 
Prometheus, one of the Cabiri. What this deposit was, and the cir- 
cumstances respecting it, piety forbids me to disclose,* It was the 
invariable practice of the ancient priests and philosophers to teach by 
enigmas, lest strangers should be able to understand them. 

The Druids committed none of their theological secrets to writing, a 
principle which has involved their system in peculiar obscurity. The 
singular practice of committing their doctrinal learning to memory was a 
severe and tedious probation for a student, but it was well calculated, in 
the particular state of Celtic society, to preserve in purity their ancient 
traditions. The care with which this race cultivated the memory has 
been shown in the previous chapter. The youth spent twenty years in 
acquiring the knowledge necessary to the Druidic profession, and, it is 
said, stored their minds with no less than 60,000 verses. 

It seems strange that the extensive prevalence of this religion should 
be denied. It has been inferred from Caesar, that it was confined to a 
limited portion of Gaul, but it has been remarked by a zealous antiqua- 
ry, that, although Cajsar says of the Germans, that they had no Druids, 
he does not say they were without religion or priests. He mentions 
some of the gods they revered, and these were the same as the Gauls 
worshipped. Tacitus also does not appear to have found Druids among 
the Germans, but he mentions their gods, their sacred groves and altars, 
their songs and their ceremonies, all which resembled those of the Gauls. 
The religion of both people was, therefore, alike Druidism, although its 
ministers may have had different appellations, and its mysteries been 
somewhat differently solemnized. Druidism is said to have been only 
partially cultivated in part of South Britain, and perfectly unknown in 
Ireland : these assertions are certainly rash and unwarrantable. This 
system of religion was cherished in Britain as its most ancient and hal- 

* Lib. ix. c. 25. 



448 DRUIDISM. 

lowed seat, and should the remarkable passage in Diodorus, concerning 
"the round temple in an island of the Hyperboreans, — opposite Celti- 
ca, — where was a magnificent grove, and where the people were harp- 
ers," be considered inapplicable to Albion, yet the fact is evident from 
the express testimony of Caesar, corroborated by Pliny, that the youth 
of Gaul resorted to Britain for instruction in the sacred religion, that 
they spent twenty years in its acquirement, and that it was believed to 
have originated there. Mela, indeed, describes the Irish as extremely 
barbarous, and devoid of all religion ; but this is too improbable to be cred- 
ited, especially when he allows them to have had those he calls magi- 
cians, whom Ware considers Druids. That they could be no other is 
evident, for dry is the Gaelic term for a magician, a philosopher and 
prophet; and Alfric, in his Saxon glossary, says magi were so called 
even by the Angles.* On the conversion of Edwin, king of Northum- 
berland, he summoned all his counsellors, among whom appeared the 
high priest Coefi. There is a proverb still in use by the Highlanders, 
which extols a person as being " as dextrous as Coefi, the Arch Druid;" 
and Doctor Mac Pherson observes, that coifi-dry, is well known to mean 
a person of extraordinary sense and cunning. Druidh is still used in 
Gaelic for wise men, from which is Druithnich or Drui, servants of truth, 
and the Teutonic Druid or Druthin.| The usual etymon of this word 
is attended with some difficulty. It is derived from Sgug, an oak, in 
Welsh derw, in Gaelic darach, &c. It is improbable that the Celts 
should have distinguished their magi by a Greek word, and the Gaelic 
derivation is not very plain. Menage believes it came from the old 
British word drus, a magician, and Keysler says draoi is a magician or 
enchanter. Mr. Grant, of Corrimony, will have the name Draothian, 
which shows the root of a series of words. Draoneach is an improver 
of the soil, and this being the first way in which man exerted his inge- 
nuity, it came to signify an artist or clever person, in which sense the 
Irish still use it. The rational belief is, therefore, that the name of this 
celebrated order imported their abilities, and is one of that class of words 
formed on the D and R, which seem to have conveyed the idea of dex- 
terity and superior qualifications. 

The Druidic religion does not appear to have been either " a late in- 
vention, or confined to the South of Britain and North of Gaul," but is 
maintained to have been observed and taught throughout the Island, 
contrary to the assertion of Pinkerton, who charges those who say there 
were Druids in Scotland, with speaking " utter nonsense." 

The Druids taught their disciples, and performed their religious rites 
in the deep recesses of woods and in caves. The Germans consecrated 
whole groves and woods, which were named from the gods, and amid 
the gloom and quiet of this seclusion, they contemplated their divinities 
in deep reverence. J Within these groves, which were generally on 

* Waldron's History of the Isle of Man. t Doctors Smith and Mac Pherson. 

t Tacitus. 



REPRESENTATIONS OF GODS 449 

conspicuous situations, were raised their rude but impressive temples, 
wliero, on festivals, the people met in great numbers.* The practice 
of surrounding places of worship with trees was usual among all pagan 
nations, hence the Jews were particularly enjoined not to plant a grove 
of any kind near unto the altar of the Lord.f In Snd Kings we find 
mention of the " women who wove hangings for the groves." They 
were the places where the statues of the gods were set up. Pausanias 
mentions the sacred grove of Apollo, called Carneus, and many others; 
part of which were inclosed by a bulwark of stones, being the most sa- 
cred spot where the statues of the divinities were placed, and which is 
always distinguished from the "uncovered part." There was a grove 
and temple at Pergamos; and that of Jupiter Ammon was surrounded 
by trees. J 

There seems to have prevailed among all rude nations a predilection 
for circular formed temples, and it is ditficult to say whether the upright 
stones which composed them were simply viewed as the boundary of the 
sacred precinct, or were considered representations of gods. From the 
following observation of Pausanias, and other passages in ancient au- 
thors, it would appear that there was a peculiar sanctity attached to 
them. " Near Pharas are thirty quadrangular stones, which the Pha- 
renses venerate." It was anciently held unbecoming by the Celts to 
represent the gods under any other form than that of a rude and shape- 
less obelisk, and this feeling was common to the early Grecians, it being 
formerly the custom with all the Greeks to reverence rude stones, m 
place of statues of the gods. The Thespians preserved an ancient statue 
of Love, that was but a rude block. ^ A square unpolished stone was 
also a symbol of Bacchus, and a round one that of the earth. |1 

The Celts did not presume to represent any of their deities under the 
human form, but typified them by various articles. The images of wild 
beasts and other animals, as well as inanimate objects, the symbols of 
their gods, they were accustomed to bring from their sacred groves, and 
use as insignia during war. After their subjugation to Rome they ap- 
parently imitated their conquerors, and allowed their gods to be repre- 
sented under terrestrial forms; — those Gallic and other statues that have 
been discovered being referable to an era subsequent to that event. 
Gildas speaks of some of the statues of the British deities being to be 
seen in the sixth century, when he wrote. That of Isis, the tutelary 
goddess of Paris, remained in the Abbey of St. Germain des Priz until 
1514, when it was removed by the order of the Bishop of Meaux.lT 

The circular form of the Celtic temples was probabiy typical of eter- 
nity, and of the deity. It was religiously adhered to as the general 
plan, and has given rise to names by which places of worship have been 
distinguished even to our own times. The Gaelic cearcal is evidently 
the origin of the Latin circus, the old English chirch, and the Scot- 

* Florus, iii. 10. , Deuter. xvi. 21. t Diod. xvii. 5. 

§ Pausanias, lib. vii. 22. ix. 27. || Beloe. TT Religion des Gauls. 

.57 



450 ABURT AND STONEHENGE. 

ish kirk, which is spelt according to its pronunciation. In like man 
ner, as the primitive temple was composed of large stones, it was term- 
ed clachan by the Gael, from which the Latin ecclesia is apparently de- 
rived; and the Highlanders to this day use the expression, calling the 
church " the stones! " 

The most astonishing temple, in point of magnitude, in Britain is that 
of Abury, or Avebury, in Wiltshire. The area of this astonishing work 
contained upwards of 28 acres, and was surrounded by a wide and deep 
ditch, and rampart measuring about 70 feet in height from the bottom. 
One hundred stones of amazing size formed an outer circle, within which 
were two others not concentric, formed of double rows of stones. Of 
these the outer contained thirty, and the inner twelve. In the centre of 
one were three stones, and in the other was a single obelisk which mea- 
sured twenty-one feet in length, and eight feet nine inches in breadth. 
Besides the circles, which we thus see contained the number of 188 
stones, there were two extended avenues which are supposed to have 
contained 462 more, making a total of 650! 

Stonehenge, in the same county, must yield in magnificence to Abu- 
ry, but if much less in size, it is greatly superior in the architectural 
science which it displays. This wonderful structure, as shown in the 
vignette, where it is represented as it is supposed to have appeared when 
in its pristine grandeur, was circular, but much smaller and of much 
more ingenious construction, than Abury. A consideration of this has 
given rise to an opinion first, I believe, expressed by Mr. Warner, that 
the latter being the rudest and apparently the most ancient, was the 
grand temple of the original Celts, whilst Stonehenge was erected by 
the Belgians, when they obtained possession of the Southern parts of 
the Island, and was intended as a rival to the other; the deep ditch cal- 
led Wansdike, supposed to be the line of demarcation between the two 
people, passing between these two astonishing monuments. This is very 
ingenious, but it is, of course, entirely suppositious. We do not find 
that the Belgians were better able to raise such a temple than the Celts, 
and we do not find that the two people had different forms of their places 
of worship. It is, besides, conjectured, with much probability, that 
Stonehenge was reared at different periods, the outward circle and the 
inner oval of trilithons being one erection, and the smaller circle and 
oval of inferior stones being another. This opinion is borne out by the 
fact that the latter are granite whilst the others are not; but antiquaries 
have come to opposite conclusions respecting the priority of erection, 
some believing that the outward circle was the original work, and others 
that the inner, and more simple design, must have been the first formed. 
This last idea appears reasonable; and although the granite stones must 
have been brought from a considerable distance, with such a people 
it was no obstacle to their adoption at any era. It is against the hypo- 
thesis of Stonehenge having been erected by a nation in hostility with 
the Celts, that the outward stones must have been brought from the 



CLASSERNESS. 451 

Northern part of the country, beyond the frontier line of the Belgian 
territory. 

When the light of history fails us, we may indulge our fancies, and 
foi-m plausible and delightful conjectures, but as there is an illimitable 
field for the imagination to wander, it is evident that it may run some- 
times into the wildest conceits. The state in which Stonehenge is found, 
and in which it has remained with apparently Uttle alteration from time 
immemorial, has left .ample room for antiquaries to exert their ingenuity 
in endeavoring to determine its original plan and appearance. 

The restoration of this wonderful pile is, according to Waltire, an en- 
thusiastic old philosopher, who actually encamped and remained on the 
ground beside this temple for several months, to satisfy his curiosity and 
complete his investigations concerning its appropriation. It is much to 
be regretted that the papers of this deep-thinking and veracious antiqua- 
ry were lost after his death. Some account of his opinions concerning 
it may be seen in Mr. Higgins' work; it need only be here observed 
that the view gives an idea of this work which could not be done in 
words. According to Waltire's plan the outer range of uprights consists 
of thirty. The inner trilithons, according to all, were five, to which he 
adds six smaller stones, as a continuation towards the entrance. The 
intermediate circle consists of thirty-eight, and the semi-circular range 
inside he makes nineteen. Thus with the altar, and reckoning the im- 
posts, the whole number is one hundred and thirty-nine.* The height 
of the outward stones is in the highest about thirteen feet, and six or 
seven in breadth, and, contrary to what we find in similar erections, the 
stones have been formed by the tool, the imposts being secured by ten- 
ons, and one stone is found formed with a rib, or moulding. 

The most remarkable character of Stonehenge consists of the imposts, 
no similar structure in Britain appearing to have ever been erected in 
this way, and except a circle at Drenthiem, and another on a mountain 
near Helmstad, represented in Keysler's work on Northern Antiqui- 
ties, there is perhaps no other instance of the trilithon style. In these 
examples the incumbent stones appear heavy, partaking more of the 
character of cromleachs, and the temples are by no means equal to 
Stonehenge either in design or execution. 

The remarkable temple at Classerness, in the Isle of Lewis, is repre- 
sented at the end of this Chapter. This singular monument is placed 
north and south, and consists of an avenue five hundred and fifty-eight 
feet long, eight feet wide, and composed of thirty-nine stones, generally 
six or seven feet high, with one at the entrance, no less than thirteen 
At the south end of this walk is a circle of sixty-three feet diameter, that 
appears to have been composed of either thirteen or fifteen stones, six to 
eight feet in height, the centre being occupied by an obelisk thirteen 
feet high, and shaped somewhat like a chair. Beyond the circle seve- 
ral stones are carried in right lines, producing a cruciform appearance. 

* Plan in the " Celtic Druids.' 



452 CARNAC. 

The length of this cross part is two hundred and four feet, and the total 
of stones appears to have been sixty-eight or seventy. Borlase, it may 
be noticed, makes them fifty-two, and Mac Culloch forty-seven. The 
magnitude and singularity of this work has led several antiquaries to 
believe that it is the very Hyperborean temple spoken of by the ancients. 
Conjecture seems to lie between Abury, Stonehenge, and Classerness, 
except we think with D'Alton, the late writer on Irish History, that the 
round temple of the Hyperborei means the round towers of Ireland. It is 
remarkable that Eratosthenes says, Apollo hid his arrow where there 
was a winged temple. The cross parts, resembling the transepts of a 
cathedral, are, I believe, peculiar to Classerness, and may very well 
bear the appellation of wings. 

The plain of Chlara, a mile eastward of CuUoden, in Inverness-shire, 
is remarkable for being full of circles, surrounded by " rows of immense 
slabs of sandstone." Some account of remarkable objects of this sort, 
with original drawings made to the Society of Antiquaries of London by 
the author, have been thought worthy of being engraved and printed in 
the twenty-second volume of the Transactions of that learned body. 
There are many other curious monuments of the same kind scattered 
throughout Scotland, Ireland, and England; but all Celtic monuments 
now in existence must yield to that stupendous work at Carnac, in Brit- 
tany. This truly astonishing memorial of a distant race, exhibits a tract 
of not less than five or six miles, on which are placed, at distances of 18, 
20, or 25 feet, eleven rows of stones, chiefly planted on the smallest end, 
forming ten avenues, or walks, of 12, 24, 18i, 18|, 30, 30, 36, 36, 301-, 
and 36 feet in width respectively, the whole resembling a huge serpent, 
as shown in a plan engraved in the above volume. This vast assemblage 
of stones is so astonishing that many have considered it impossible for 
human hands to arrange them, and believe it to be the effects of some 
convulsion of nature; but however much we may be amazed at the mag- 
nitude of Carnac, it is assuredly an artificial erection. The reason for a 
departure from the usual circular form it seems impossible to discover, 
but the hypothesis of Cambray, Penhouet, and others, are ingenious. 
The authors of the "Celtic Druids" and " Hermes Britannicus" sug- 
gest the idea that the number of stones indicated the years which, accord- 
ing to the Druids, had passed t'rom the creation. The number of stones 
now remaining being about 4000, is found to agree very nearly with the 
age of the world, but it must be observed that in its original state they 
are believed to have equalled 10,000. Whatever credit may be attach- 
ed to it, the tradition is, that a stone was added every year at Midsum- 
mer, on which occasion the whole pile was illuminated, a practice that 
points to the worship of Belus. That it was consecrated to this deity 
also may be inferred from the tradition that it was the work of the Cri- 
ons, surely a name derived from Grianus, the Celtic term for the sun. On 
this subject the opinion of Olaus Magnus may be stated, which appears to 
savor too much of fancy. If stones are arranged in a circle, they denote 



CELTIC DEITIES. 453 

a family burial-place; if in a right line, the battle of heroes; in a square, 
troops of warriors were represented ; and in a wedge form, they imported 
that on or near the spot, armies of horse or foot were victorious. 

That the Celts worshipped in circular temples formed of rude stones 
is indisputable; because we find the circular inclosures used until late 
times for courts of law as well as places of worship, and although the 
time when some of them were actually built be known, we are not, there- 
fore, justified in denying their original appropriation. As the Celtic 
priests were legis.ators, the temple was the place whence they promul- 
gated their laws, and on the abolit'on of paganism, although discouraged, 
the use of the circle for this purpose, and for worship, was long retained. 
Christianity did not at first deny the use of the place of worship for judi- 
cial purposes; but, gaining ground, an express canon of the Scotish 
church prohibited courts from being held in churches, for they were 
usually erected on the sites of temples; and I am convinced that when 
the Christian edifice ceased to be the place where civil matters were 
decided, as had been the practice in pagan times, the laws or moot-hills 
were substituted, and hence it is that these mounts are so generally 
found in the close vicinity of churches. Where, however, zeal for Chris- 
tianity did not lead to the destruction of circles and their condemnation 
as places of meeting, they continued to be used as courts, especially by 
the Northern nations, until very late times; and from the circumstance 
of surrounding the circle, after the meeting had assembled, the term of 
" fencing a court," in all probability, is derived. One of the latest in- 
stances of this appropriation of " the standing stones" occurs in 1380, 
when Alexander Stewart, Lord of Badenach, held a court at those of the 
Rath of Kingusie. 

The chief seat of Druidism on the continent, Coesar tells us, was in 
the country of the Carnutes, supposed to have been where the city of 
Chartres now stands. 

It appears to me that the principal Celtic deity was the sun, Belus, 
Belenus, or Baal. Herodian* says, the Aquileians worshipped this god, 
whom they considered the same as Apollo, whence we see why the Hy- 
perborei especially venerated him, for he was the personification of that 
luminary. The Caledonians worshipped this deity under the name of 
Baal, or Beil, and to his honor they lighted fires on Midsummer-day, or 
the 1st of May. This festival, which is not even yet discontinued, was 
called Baal-tein, or beltain, signifying the fire of Baal, and was former- 
ly commemorated so generally that it became a term in Scots' law, which 
is yet in use. This practice of lighting fires on Midsummer, arose from 
the circumstance of the Druids having at that time caused all fires to oe 
extinguished, to be rekindled from the sacred fire that was never allow- 
ed to expire. It is surprising that this sacred flame, like that in the 
temple of Vesta, should be preserved for ages after the extinction of the 
religion, by Christian priests. It was no earlier than 1220, that Loun- 

* Lib. viii. 



454 SACRED FIRE. 

dres, Archbishop of Dublin, extinguished the perpetual fire, which was 
kept in a small cell near the church of Kildare; but so firmly rooted was 
the veneration for this fire, that it was relighted in a few years, and ac- 
tually kept burning until the suppression of monasteries!* This fire 
was attended by virgins, often women of quality, called Inghean an 
Dagha, daughters of fire, and Breochuidh, or the fire-keepers, from which 
they have been confounded with the nuns of St. Brigid. A writer in 
the Gentleman's Magazine, 1795, says, being in Ireland the day before 
Midsummer, he was told that in the evening he should see " the lighting 
of the fires in honor of the sun" at midnight; and Riche describes the 
preparation for the festival in these words; "what watching, what rat- 
tling, what tinkling upon pannes and candlesticks, what strewing of 
hearbes, what clamors, and other ceremonies are used," and all this 
apparently in Dublin itself Spenser says, on kindling a fire the Irish 
always made a prayer. A practice of the cooks at Newcastle, who light 
bonfires on Midsummer-day, may be derived from the Beltain rites; and 
the chimney-sweeps of London and other parts who go in procession and 
dance in grotesque dresses, appear to represent the ancient fire worship- 
pers at their holiday amusements. 

Graine, Grein, or Grannus, was a term for this god among the Cale- 
donians, and an inscription to him was found in the ruins of Antonine's 
wall. I The word is gre-theim, the t being quiescent, and it signifies the 
essence or natural source of fire. Camden says, Grannus is of similar 
import with Gruagach, a supernatural being, latterly distinguished among 
the Scots as a Brownie ; and he quotes Isodore to show that the long hair 
of the Goths was called granni, which it is apparent is neither more nor 
less thali the Gaelic word. The sun, distinguished as the source of fire, 
became known by a natural change, as the yellow, or golden haired, 
and the libations of milk were always offered on the granni, or gruagach 
stone, of which there was one in every village, on days consecrated to 
the sun. The singular method of raising the tein-egin, or need-fire, has 
been described, and the virtues which it is supposed to possess, in page 
293. The Highlanders passed through the fire to Baal as the ancient 
Gentiles did; and they thought it a religious duty to walk round their 
fields and flocks with burning matter in their right hands, a practice 
once universal throughout the country. The Northern nations had an 
equal veneration for fire, preserving it continually on their altars. Pio- 
run was the chief god of the Poles, and two places where he was wor- 
shipped are known. At Wilna, where one of them was situated, the 
altar is still preserved in the cathedral; and it is related that Ris image 
stood under an oak with a fire constantly burning before it. The Poles 
became Christians only in the end of the fourteenth century. J 

It appears to have been in imitation of the sun's course that the Gael 
religiously observed, in their rites and common occupations, to make 

* Archdall's Mon. Hib. ap. Antli. Hib. iii. 240. t Mac Pherson's Diss. xvii. 

t Letters from Poland. 



CELTIC DEITIES. 455 

the deisal, or turn to the right hand. Pliny, it is to be observed, says 
that the Gauls, in worshipping, contrary to the practice of other nations, 
always turned to the lei't, but Possidonius and others expressly say to 
the right, a reconciliation of which apparent inconsistency is attempted 
by D. Martin, in his Religion des Gauls. 

Between Badenach and Strathspey is Slia-grannus, the heath of gran- 
nus, called by the inhabitants griantachd, which has undoubtedly been 
a magh-aoraidh, or field where Druidical worship was performed. The 
sun was believed to be propitious to the high minded warrior. In the 
work of Dr. Smith, Grian is thus addressed: " Thou delightest to shed 
thy beams on the clouds which enrobe the brave, and to spread thy rays 
around the tombs of the valiant." It was also a belief that the world 
should be consumed by this deity: and la bhrath, the day of burning, now 
understood of the last judgment, came, from the improbability or re- 
moteness of the catastrophe, to be translated " never." Connected with 
this belief seems the clachan bhrath, a globular stone, still viewed with 
superstitious feelings in the Islands of lona and Garveloch. 

A fire having originated among the luhones, and consumed the woods 
to the walls of Cologne, the people collected and attacked the devouring 
element first with stones at a distance, which appearing to check its rage, 
they ventured closer, and, using clubs, they ultimately repulsed and sub- 
dued it. Finally, we are told, they smothered it entirely by means of their 
clothes. All this apparent madness must have arisen from their belief 
that they were contending with supernatural beings, and it is not more 
absurd than many actions of the old Highlanders. 

Cassar has said that the Gauls paid their highest veneration to Mer- 
cury; to which opinion he may have been led by having a better oppor- 
tunity of observing his worship, for his attributes being numerous, he 
must have had many devotees, as the Virgin Mary, among the ignorant 
Catholics, receives often more attention than the Saviour himself. The 
god whom Caesar calls Mercury, was Teut, or Theuth, Dhu taith, or 
Teutates, i. e. the god Taute, who was no other than the Taatus of the 
Phoenicians. The word bears a strong resemblance to the Armoric 
Tad, or Tat, a father. The Gallo-Belgic name for Teutates, Schoepflin 
says, was Wodan, who was worshipped by the Saxons. They also 
adored Hermes, or Mercury, under the name of Irmin, or Ermensul, a 
statue of whom was found at Eresburg, by Charlemagne. 

The Gauls derived their origin from Dis, a god that has been assimi- 
lated with Pluto, but who is with more reason believed to have been the 
earth, or its elements, and the same being as the German Tuisto, or 
Tuitos, from whom that people alleged themselves to be sprung. 

We learn from Tacitus, that the Aviones, Angles, Varinians, Eudoses, 
&.C., universally worshipped Herthum, Hertte, or Mother Earth; believ- 
ing she visited countries, and interposed in human affairs. In an island 
of the ocean was the wood Castum, where was a chariot dedicated 
to the goddess, covered with a curtain, and not permitted to be touched 



456 • CELTIC DEITIES. 

but by the priest, who watched the time when she entered the car, which 
was always drawn by cows, and with profound veneration attended its 
motions. In all places which she deigned to visit were great feasts and 
rejoicino-s, and every warlike instrument was then carefully put out of 
the way, and peace and repose were then proclaimed. When tired of 
conversation with mortals, the same priests reconducted her to the tem- 
ple. Then the chariot and the curtains, and even the deity herself, if 
you believe it, adds the historian, were washed and purified in a secret 
lake. In this office slaves officiated, who were doomed to be afterwards 
swallowed up in the same lake; hence all men were possessed with a 
mysterious terror, as well as with a holy ignorance, what that must be 
which none see but such as are immediately to perish. " The Truce 
of God," so often and so effectually proclaimed by the clergy about the 
eleventh century, was an obvious imitation of the procession of the god- 
dess Earth, which in pagan times took place in the territories of present 
Mecklenburg. The appeal to Hertha was made by passing under a 
strip of green sod, as before described. 

Mannus was celebrated among the Germans as one of their founders, 
being the son of Tuisto. Mannus, according to Clarke, is the same as 
Manes, which Menage on Loertius says was used by the Greeks for a 
servant. 

The ^stii, says Tacitus, worship the mother of the gods; and, as the 
characteristic of their superstition, they wear the images of wild boars, 
by which every worshipper of the goddess is secured from danger even 
amid his foes. The Germans also wore, in veneration of their gods, a 
shackle round their leg.* Of the Suevi we are told the Semnones reck- 
oned themselves most noble and ancient, and the belief of their antiqui- 
ty was confirmed by religious mysteries. At a certain time of the year 
all the people descended from the same stock, assembled by their depu- 
ties in a wood, consecrated by their fathers, and by superstitious awe in 
times of old, and began there their worship by sacrificing a man. To 
this grove another sort of veneration was paid; no one entered it unless 
bound; from that circumstance evincing his own subordination and mean- 
ness, and the power of the deity. If any one fell down he was not per- 
mitted to rise or be lifted up, but grovelled along on the ground. They 
believed that in that place God resided, that from this place they drew 
their origin, and that all things are subject to the deity. 

Mars is placed by Ceesar the third in the list of five gods, which, he 
says, the Gauls adored. This god, to whom the Scyths paid the high- 
est honor, is believed to be the Esus, or Hesus, of the Gauls, mentioned by 
Lucan, who was called, according to Leibnitz, Erich by the Germans; 
and a sculpture of whom was to be seen in the cathedral of Paris in 
1711. The Britons called this being Belatucadro, or, according to 
Richard of Cirencester, Vitucadrus. The first appellation is derived 
from Beladuw, the god, Cadwyr, of Wars. There was also Malseen, 

* Nen. Brit. p. 41. 



CELTIC DEITIES. 457 

the Goddess of War. Before a battle, the spoils of the enemy were de- 
voted to the gods of destruction;* and Porevith was the German god of 
spoils. On one occasion the Gauls vowed to Mars a chain made of the 
plunder of the Romans.! To this deity they devoutly offered up the cat- 
tle and other spoils which were deposited in consecrated places throughout 
their provinces, where might be seen vast stores piled up, for no one con- 
cealed any part of the plunder, or presumed to touch that which was thus 
disposed of. Those temples were at last rifled by Caesar, 

The Gauls worshipped Taran, or Tanar, who was the god of thunder, 
an-d corresponds to the Jupiter Tonans of the Romans. Torran signi- 
fies, among the present Highlanders, the low murmur of distant thunder; 
taruinach is applied to the loudest peals; and torneonach is an uncom- 
mon noise. Doctor Mac Pherson thinks the name may be Nd' air neo- 
nach, or wrathful father. In Cheshire an altar was found inscribed D. 
O. M. Tanaro, to the great Jupiter Tanarus. 

The British god of justice was called Andraste, according to Richard 
of Cirencester, who tells us he had his information from a dux Roman- 
orum; but he seems to make two gods out of one, when he says that An- 
dates was victory. This last was the Andate, or Andraste of Dio, to 
whom four places of worship were consecrated in the Isle of Sky. J 

Nehelania, supposed to have been the new moon, was a goddess wor- 
shipped by Gauls and Germans, and at Brittenburg, near the Rhine, a 
stone was found, dedicated to Nehelania Creta, which would make it 
appear that she presided over agriculture, in which case, JVehelenia of 
Marl would correspond to the Anu of the Irish, and Anactis of the Scots, 
to whose immediate care the productions of the earth and waters were 
confided. 

Mona, or Mena, who was worshipped by the Sequani, was the moon. 
The Gael blessed the beams of this luminary that saved them from the 
danger of precipices, &c. St. Augustine says, that the Gallic peasants in- 
voked Mena for the welfare of their women. The influence which this lu- 
minary is supposed to have over the human destiny is a remarkable relic 
of pagan superstition. The old Germans, who thought when the moon 
was in eclipse, it had become angry with them, were little less credulous 
than the Scots, who, in some parts, will neither marry nor engage in any 
undertaking of importance until that planet is full. 

The special god of waters was called Neithe, an appellation derived 
from a word signifying to wash or purify with water. The Celts ven- 
erated lakes, rivers, and fountains, into which they were accustomed to 
throw offerings of gold and silver. § The Britons entertained the same 
superstitious feeling concerning water; and Adomnan mentions it among 
the Picts. It is well known that it prevailed among the Highlanders 
and Scots in general, until very lately, and the common people yet re- 
tain some peculiar notions of this element quite unconnected with Chris- 

* Tacitus' Annals, xii. 57. t Florus, ii. 4. 

t Dr. Mac Queen. § Religion des Gauls, i. 128. 

68 



458 CELTIC DEITIES. . , 

tianity. The people of Lewis anciently sacrificed to a sea god called 
Shony. In Strathspey is Loch nan Spioridan, or the Lake of Spirits, 
being the residence of two, namely, the horse and water-bull, which 
sometimes make their appearance. The mermaid is seen before floods, 
and the Marcach sine, or rider of the storm, blows the waters of a river 
or lake into violent waves or whirling eddies.* Well-worship is a super- 
stition that is not yet entirely eradicated, it being customary to visit cer- 
tain fountains on particular days, and leave on the margin or adjoining 
bushes bits of party-colored rags, pebbles, or pins, the representatives 
of the more valuable offerings of more distant times. The same super- 
stition exists in Ireland; and statutes expressly prohibiting the practice 
were passed by Edgar, by Canute, and even by Anselm at London, in 
1102. The dedication of fountains to saints, after the introduction of 
Christianity, perpetuated the veneration instilled by the Druids, who 
certainly employed water in their ceremonies. Pope Gregory writes to 
Boniface, the German apostle, that those who had received the pagan 
baptism only should be rebaptized.'f The rock basins seem very proba- 
bly designed for the performance of this rite. A fountain was often 
found near a circle, as it afterwards was in the vicinity of a Christian 
church; and the noise of a distant river was desirable. 

What is related of some of the Celts, who are represented as rushing 
into the floods and attacking the billows sword in hand, must be referred 
to their peculiar mythological notions. From this must be deduced the 
ordeal, to which malefactors were subjected, by being committed to the 
water, there to be judged by the presiding deity, who, if guilty, would 
refuse to receive them, but if otherwise, would, by allowing them to 
sink, show that they were accepted by the god. 

It is not to be wondered that divine honor should be paid to woods, 
when the temples were surrounded with them as a sacred precinct. Cer- 
tain beings called Dusii, were supposed by the Celts to have the 
dominion of certain forests; the partiality of this race to hunting, for 
success in which they sacrificed to Diana, and the uses of trees as a 
system of letters, also increased their veneration to forests. The Brit- 
ons appear to have had some consecrated to victory. The Gauls rever- 
enced the winds, and gave thanks when Circius, or the N. N. W. blew.J 
In an island called Sena, opposite to the Loire, are the wives, says Stra- 
bo, of the SamnitcE, possessed with Bacchic fury, who sell the winds 
which they can raise by songs, to mariners. § The deep and melancho- 
ly sound, well known by the inhabitants of a high country, that precedes 
a storm, is called by the bards " the spirit of the mountain;" and it was 
customary for a Highlander, when roused by a sudden blast of wind, to 
search it with his sword, and he sometimes imagined he discovered the 
corpse or spirit of a relation just dead. 

* Stat. Account, xiii. t Keysler, Ant. de Celt, p. 313. % Seneca, v. 17. 

§ Mela, iii. 6. The Druids and Druidesses of this island were burnt by Conan, Duke 
of Bretagne. — Rojoux' Dues des Bretagne, i. 135. 



CELTIC DEITIES. 459 

From the annals of Tacitus we find, that among the Naharvali, a sa- 
cred and extremely ancient grove was shown where a priest habited like 
a woman presided. The deity which was there worshipped was called 
Alcis, and as the followers of this being addressed themselves to young 
men and to brothers, the Romans believed that they worshipped Castor 
and Pollux. 

Hercules, or Ogmius, was worshipped by the Gauls, who had a sin- 
gular opinion of his attributes, which will be spoken of presently. He 
was reckoned the founder of the city of Alise, now Arras, and to this 
day, says Diodorus, the Celtae have a great respect for it on that account. 
Tacitus says, the Germans, believing he had been in their country, 
chiefly extolled him when they were singing the Barditus, or chant with 
which they advanced to battle: a decisive proof, by the by, I apprehend, 
of the identity of their religion with that of the Gauls. Vulcan is also 
said to have been worshipped by the Celts, and the names of several 
other gods and goddesses may be seen in Montfaucon's Antiquities and 
elsewhere. On a hill at Framont, near Lorraine, there seems to have 
been a sort of Gaulish pantheon, from the number of statues and other 
singular antiquities that are from time to time discovered. 

It is probable that the different nations had their tutelary deities, for 
the Celts, although originally possessing a pure religion adoring one 
supreme god, appear in time to have brought it to as much complexity 
as their neighbors of Greece and Rome. Adomnan speaks of the Picts 
as having their own gods and magi, or priests, and it is not unlikely that 
each people placed themselves under the protection of certain beings, as 
nations afterwards adopted their different saints, champions, and media- 
tors. 

Besides the circular temples, the Celts had Cromleachs, that is, huge 
stones raised on several others, one of which is represented at the com 
mencement of Chapter HI. These sometimes form a rude sort of cell, 
as at Maen Cetti, or Kit's Cotty house, in Kent, and the superincum- 
bent block is sometimes of very large dimensions. One at Plas 
Newydd, in Anglesea, measures twelve feet by thirteen feet two inches 
where broadest, its greatest depth being five feet; so that it cannot 
weigh less than thirty tons seven cwt. Constantine Tolmasn, in Corn- 
wall, contains at least 75 tons. Tolmaen is usually applied to a stone 
that is perforated, the object of which does not seem to be well known. 
Cromleach is said to be a punic word, signifying the bed of death, by 
others it is believed to signify sloping or bending stone. It is said 
to have been originally called Botal, the house of God; and Bethel, 
a name of similar import, was the very term applied by Jacob to the 
pillar which he set up. Ponderous rocking stones, masses that are 
either naturally or artificially poised on so small a point that a slight 
effort will make them vibrate, are considered druidical works, and it is 
not improbable, that they were; but a mind heated with bardic enthusi- 
asm, will refer every thing curious of this kind to the Celtic priesthood. 



460 DRUIDS BARDS, AND OVATES.— SKILL IN AUGURY, 

The Druids were unfortunate in not having met with historians to hand 
down to posterity their singular manners. The measures they took have 
been too successful in preventing their secrets from being divulged. 
Large and rude obelisks, sometimes single, and sometimes several 
together, may have been erected by them. 

The religious order among the Celts was divided into three classes; 
namely, the Druids, the bards, and the ovates, vates or faidhs. The 
first were the chief priests, and the second were those to whom the com- 
pilation and preservation of the oral chronicles of the nation were espe- 
cially committed, and whose duties as poets and musicians have been 
already dilated upon. The third class, sometimes called Eubages, were 
prophets, and had the immediate care of the sacrifices. They contem- 
plated the nature of things, as the ancients expressed themselves, and 
were highly respected by the people, who universally resorted to them 
for information on all subjects. It was not lawful to sacrifice without 
one of these philosophers, and it was devoutly believed, that through 
those who were acquainted with the nature of the deity, all supplications 
and thanksgiving should be offered.* The Archdruid, called Ard- 
dhruid in Gaelic, who had a casting vote in all questions, was chosen by 
the others, but rivals sometimes contended for preeminence in arms. 

The Celts, according to Justin, were skilled in augury above any 
other people, and the Germans are represented by Tacitus as equally 
prone to it. Their method of divining by lots was simple; they cut a 
twig from a fruit-tree, and divided it into two pieces, which they distin- 
guished by marks, and threw them at random upon a white garment. If 
the affair was of'a public nature, a priest, or if private, the father of 
a family, having solemnly invoked the gods with uplifted eyes, took up 
each of the pieces thrice, and formed a judgment according to the marks. 
If the conclusion was unfavorable, they consulted no more that day; 
when favorable, they confirmed the appearances by auguries. They 
also divined events from the flight and notes of birds, and it was peculiar 
to the Germans to draw presages from horses, which were kept in 
uncontrolled freedom, in the sacred woods and groves, at the public 
expense. They were milk white, and were yoked in a holy chariot, at- 
tended by the priest and chief, who carefully marked their actions and 
neighing. This was the augury in which most faith was reposed by the 
nobles and people, for they thought the animals privy to the will of the 
gods. 

Pliny says the Gauls made much use of vervain in divination. When 
the Celts were to consult concerning any important matter, they sacrific- 
ed a man, by striking him with a sword across his breast, and judged of 
the event by the manner in which he fell, the convulsion of his members, 
and the flow of blood; in all which they had great faith, from ancient 
practice and observation. In Sena, now L'Isle De Sain, opposite 

* Diodorus. 



DIVINATION.— TAIBHSEARACHD, OR SECOND SIGHT. 461 

Brest, was a celebrated oracle, with nine priests, called Senae, or Sam 
nitre, who professed celibacy. 

In the Silures, or Silina, the Dumnonii worshipped the gods, and had 
knowledge of futurity,* and a British Druidess foretold the fate of Dio 
cletian. On Bonduca's revolt, women, transported with oracular fury, 
chanted denunciations. One method of divination is recorded which was 
practised by this heroine. At the conclusion of her harangue, she let 
sFip a hare which she had concealed, and from its course having drawn 
a favorable presage, the whole army shouted for joy. The religion of 
the Britons did not permit them to eat either a hen, a goose, or this 
animal, and it was reckoned unlucky if one of the last should cross one's 
path. 

Fingal is celebrated, among other qualifications, for his knowledge 
of futurity. The Highlanders had several methods of consulting the 
fates, some of which are not yet disused. One of the most remarkable 
was when a number of men retired to a lonely and secluded place, where 
one of the number was, with the exception of the head, enveloped in 
a cow's hide, and left alone for the night. Certain invisible beings then 
came, and answering the question which he put to them, relieved him. 
Martin tells us of one Erach, who had been a night in this situation in 
North Uist, and declared that he felt and heard such terrible things 
as could not be expressed, that the terror he was in had disordered his 
mind, and that " for a thousand worlds he would never again be con- 
cerned in the like performance." The Taghairm nan caht was another 
method of seeking for information, and consisted in putting a live cat on 
a spit, and roasting it until other cats made their appearance, and an- 
swering the question, in Gaelic of course, obtained the release of the 
unfortunate animal. In order to get oracles, the Celts would pass whole 
nights at the tombs of brave men,! a frequent practice of the old Cale- 
donians. 

The Taibhsearachd, or second sight, is a faculty in some Highlanders 
that has excited the surprise and the doubts of the learned. A person, 
without any previous warning, sees something that is to happen, both 
at a distance of time and place, and consequently can foretell death or 
accident, and many other circumstances. That the Gael have been and 
still are subject to this impression, is too well ascertained to be denied; 
and it has been attempted to account for it without admitting supernatu- 
ral agency. To suppose that the seers are impostors, and the people 
deluded, is rather too much, for no gain is derived from it, but, on the 
contrary, the second sight is, by the persons who possess it, considered 
a misfortune, and the people cannot consult them as they would fortune- 
tellers. The presages also are usually unfortunate, and the prophets 
are found to be temperate and well living. That this faculty can be 
communicated to another, as a correspondent informed Aubrey, is not 
true, neither is it hereditary, but affects those of all classes and ages 

* Solinus. t Nicander. Tertullian. 



462 RELIGIOUS OPINIONS. 

Dr Johnson could not satisfy himself that the Highlanders were deceiv- 
ed in this impression; and so many instances of well authenticated 
foresights are recorded * as appear sufficient to silence the skeptical. 
The second sight is not indeed so prevalent as formerly, which, accord- 
ing to a writer in some work which now escapes my memory, who 
attempts to account for it on rational grounds, may arise from the alter- 
ed state of society in the Highlands, the people not being obliged to lead 
that solitary life which they formerly did, when the imagination was 
affected by the loneliness, the wildness, and seclusion of the country. 
A German predicted the good fortune of Agrippa from observing an owl 
perched on a tree on which he leaned, affirming that should he see it 
again he had but five days to live."]" A female Druid foretold, in her na- 
tive language, the death of Alexander Severus ; and a story is related by 
Vopiscus, of a Druidess who predicted that Diocletian, while a private, 
should become Emperor, after killing a boar, which happened to prove 
true by his slaying Aper, who had killed Numerianus. This is thought 
by Rowland, in his Mona Antiqua, to be an instance of second sight. 
The Manx possess this faculty; and a story is related by Sacheverel, 
of a magistrate of Belfast, who had been wrecked, and was told by the 
natives, who could not of themselves have known the fact, that he had 
lost thirteen men. Waldron, the historian of that island, says he could 
not bring himself to believe the inhabitants could see funerals, Stc. until 
he had on several occasions, when he visited families, found the table 
spread, and the people prepared to receive him, having had this super- 
natural warning that he would come. Martin also relates, that in some 
of the isles which he visited, they had made preparations for his com- 
pany, telling him they had been informed by appearances that he was to 
visit them. 

Fauchet remarks, that all the ancients agree that the Gauls were re- 
ligiously inclined. With whatever ceremonies the Druidical religion was 
iccompanied, or however the doctrines of its professors were disguised 
mder superstitious and, in some cases, very objectionable practices, 
idapted for the gratification of the vulgar, it appears to have been really 
=1 belief in one supreme being. The purity of this religion, when strip- 
ped of its mysteries and unmeaning observances, is acknowledged. The 
Druids, besides teaching all sorts of useful knowledge, disputed of mor- 
als, of which justice, says Strabo, was the chief sentiment; and it has 
been shown in another place, that Celtic society was regulated under 
their government with the strictest regard to equality and independence, 
both personal and national. The grand doctrine of the immortality of 
the soul was taught by this people, and it was one of the strongest in- 
citements to the practice of virtue. This is expressly said by Diodorus 
to be the Pythagorean system; a proof of the identity, or at least strong 
resemblance, of both religions, and a refinement of the doctrine of me- 
tempsychosis, or transmigration of the souls of human beings into the 

* See Martin's Western Isles, p. 300, &c. t Josephus' Antiquities, xviii. 6_. 7. 



RELIGIOUS OPINIONS. 463 

bodies of other animals. The Celts are said not to have had an evil prin- 
ciple, which the Scandinavians admitted.* By the Edda this people had 
a fixed elysium and a hell; and the dead were believed to carry their 
bodies into bliss, but the Celtoe held that the deceased were unsubstantial, 
although they continued to be inspired with the same feelings which an- 
imated them on earth: they were as immaterial as the clouds on which 
they were borne, and were subject to the same impression of the wind; 
" often has the blast whirled his limbs together, but still he seemed like 
Curach." The women appear to have been excluded from the Valhalla 
of the Northern nations, apparently to prevent brawling, except in cases 
where they voluntarily killed themselves; on the contrary, the Celts 
admitted them as their most agreeable associates, and believed that in the 
second state of existence their charms were much increased. The 
works of the bards abound in beautiful allusions to this belief, which 
long subsisted among the Gael. A poem, quoted by Mac Pherson, and 
supposed to be one thousand years later than Ossian, has these remark- 
able words. "Hark! the whirlwind is in the wood! a low murmur in 
the vale! it is the mighty army of the dead returning from the air." 
Dreeug is the meteor on which, says Dr. Smith, the Highlanders yet 
believe they ascend to heaven. 

A general belief of the Gael was, that the future state of permanent 
happiness was in Flath-innis, a remote Island in the West; but they also 
thought that particular clans had certain hills to which the spirits 
of their departed friends had a peculiar attachment. Tom-mhor was 
that appropriated to the house of Garva, a branch of Clan Pherson; and 
Ore, another hill, was regarded by the house of Crubin, of the same 
clan, as their place of meeting in a future state, and their summits were 
supernaturally illuminated when any member of the families died. 

It was the opinion formerly, and it is believed at this day, that the 
souls of the deceased continued to hover round the places they loved to 
haunt when in this world, and kept near their friends, and sometimes 
appeared when they were to engage in any important business. The 
popular belief also was, that the Druids continued to frequent the oak 
trees, for which they had so much respect when alive. It was no very 
irrational persuasion, that the spirits of the good should exist in a state 
of happiness hereafter, should ride on the clouds, and, in addition to the 
pleasures of their own state, should enjoy the songs of praise which those 
who were left on earth composed to their memory. Less ferocious than 
the Scandinavian heroes, they did not place their delight in quaffing 
wine from the skulls of their foes, but their chief enjoyments were the 
careful protection of their earthly friends and the refined pursuit of 
aerial hunting and feasting. There the passions which disturbed the tran- 
quillity of a sublunary life were hushed; " side by side," says an ancient 
bard, " they sit who once mixed in battle their steel." There were 
however, bad as well as good spirits, and the distinction which the an 

* Mac Pherson's Introduction to the Hist, of Great Britain. 



464 ■ MISLETOE AND SERPENT'S EGG. 

cient Scots made between them was, that the latter sometimes appeared 
by day; and although the place was usually lonely and unfrequented, it 
was never in those dismal and gloomy parts where the evil genii present- 
ed themselves, and invariably during night. 

As teachers of morality, the Druids, by their own example, enforced 
their precepts; their austerity and contemplative habits inspired the pop- 
ulace with reverence and awe, while enjoying an exemption from war, 
and immunity of all things, many were brought up to the profession.* 
What is related of the Pythagoreans is equally applicable to the profes- 
sors of Bardism; they were particularly careful to guard against all sorts 
of intemperance; and to inure themselves to abstinence, they had all 
sorts of delicacies prepared, as if for a banquet, which they spread out 
and feasted their eyes with for some time, when, having sufficiently tried 
their resolution, the whole was cleared away, and they all withdrew 
without tasting any thing. 

The attachment of these philosophers to each other was an admirable 
example of brotherly affection. They often travelled great distances to 
relieve the distresses of each other, the whole sect being animated with 
a desire to assist those who had, through misfortune, become reduced; 
and instances are recorded of their even offering their lives for each oth- 
er.l In this there is a striking resemblance to the philanthropy of Free- 
masons, the traditions of whom, scriptural and oral, are, I apprehend, 
referable to the institutions of Druidism. The Pythagoreans, like their 
brethren the Celtic Druids, were fond of an enigmatical way of speak- 
ing. Their injunction to refrain from eating beans, involved a command 
to abstain from unlawful love. J 

The Druids were, like the priests of other nations, obliged to clothe 
religion with ceremonies calculated to excite the wonder and awe of the 
common people, but the opinions of the better informed were not so 
gross as the externals of their religion might indicate. The respect 
which the Druids had for the oak was a characteristic of the profession, 
and was only exceeded by the veneration which they had for the Misle- 
toe; they had also a mysterious regard for the number 3, and the Py- 
thagoreans knew each other by it. Vallancey has remarked that the 
misletoe, in its berries and leaves, grows in this number, but it is to be 
observed that it was that which was found on the oak only, that the 
Druids considered sacred, and which they gathered with so much cere- 
mony. It seems that this veneration pervaded the Greeks also, and by 
the Edda it would appear to have been the forbidden fruit. The vene- 
ration which the Celts had for vervain and other plants, with the super- 
stitions accompanying their gathering and preparation, have been spoken 
of in Chap. XI. 

The Ovum anguinum, described by Pliny, ^ was thus formed. Innu- 
merable serpents, entwining themselves together, produced an egg, 

* CtEsar. t Diod. Frag. Valesii, vi. sec. 36, 37, &c 

t Beloe, note on Herod, iv. c 131. § Lib. xviii- 3. 



HUMAN SACRIFICES. 465 

which being forced into the air, was caught in a robe before it touched 
the ground, and borne off instantly on horse-back, the intervention of a 
river alone stopping the pursuit of the serpents. Those only which were 
procured at a certain age of the moon were valued, and their goodness 
was proved by their swimming against the water, even when bound with 
gold. This egg was the ensign of a Druid, and the virtues ascribed to 
it were numerous. I truly, says Pliny, have seen it, about the size of 
a moderate round apple, with a shell like the claws and arms of a poly- 
pus. For success in lawsuits, and interest with kings it was wonder- 
fully extolled; and I know that a Roman knight of the Vocontii, wag 
put to death, because, while pleading a cause, he had it in his bosom. 
This is the glain nadir of the Welsh, who still regard it with supersti- 
tious feelings. 

The sacrifices of the Celts, as we have seen in their auguries, were 
not always bloodless. Hei.-.ules and Mars were appeased with beasts, 
but to Mercury, on certain days, it was lawful to offer even human vic- 
tims. The shocking practice of immolating human beings is so repug- 
nant to modern feelings, that many have become skeptical as to its exist- 
ence among the ancient Celts. It certainly was in use by those people 
on the continent and in the British Isles, particularly in Anglesea.* 

The principle of life for life may account for the apparent frequency 
of these horrible rites, for those convicted of crimes were preferred. 
They kept malefactors and prisoners sometimes five years, and then im- 
paled them on stakes, and presented them as a burnt offering for the 
honor of the gods. It must, nevertheless, be admitted that guiltless in- 
dividuals were often doomed to fall as a propitiation to the Celtic deities. 
The Galatians, when successful in war, sacrificed their prisoners, and 
we read that they prepared for battle with Antigonus, by sacrificing 
many of their children and relations. | Some, we are told, were shot 
with sacred arrows; but let us not conclude that the Celtas were more 
sanguinary and cruel than other nations. Human sacrifices were not 
abolished in the refined "city of the world" ninety-seven years before 
the appearance of Christ. J A male and female Gaul, and a Grecian 
man and woman, we are informed by Livy, were buried alive after the 
battle of Cannae, but not by the Roman rites, it is added! a distinction 
which doubtless altered the case.§ In the time of Caesar, two men were 
publicly sacrificed, and human victims were offered to Jupiter Latialis 
even in the fourth century. The history of Rome affords a few instan- 
ces of individuals devoting themselves to death for the purpose of avert- 
ing an impending evil. The Massilians, or rather the Gauls around 
them, were accustomed to sacrifice a voluntary victim, who was deli- 
cately fed and sumptuously treated for a year previous to his death. He 
was then dressed in holy garments ; and, crowned with a wreath of 
vervain, he was thrown headlong from a precipice. || 

* Tac. Annals, xiv. t Justin, xxvi. 2. Strabo, iv. p. 195. 

t Pliny, xxxi. § Dio. xliii. 24 11 Petronius 

59 



466 GROVE AND TEMPLE DESCRIBED. 

The colossal figure, formed of osier and described by Caesar, was 
certainly used by the priests of Druidism as the vehicle in which numer- 
ous human beings were occasionally immolated. Strabo says that it was 
chiefly filled with sheep, but it cannot be denied that the sacrifices were 
not always of so innocent a nature. Dr. Milner, in his History of Win- 
chester, says that at Douay and Dunkirk there is an immemorial custom 
of constructing huge figures of wicker work and canvass, that are filled 
with men and moved about to represent a giant that was killed by their 
patron saint. In Paris, there used to be a custom, which is not yet 
abolished in some small towns, and that seems evidently to derive its 
origin from the barbarous practice of the Druids, The Mayors, on the 
eve of St. John, put into a large basket a dozen or two of cats, which 
are thrown into the bonfires kindled on that festival.* 

Between the Seine and the Loire, where Chartres now stands, it is 
believed, was that famous establishment of the Druids, " where rustics 
pled and private persons decided." At this place all who had contro- 
versies met together, and, from an ancient comedy quoted by Ritson. 
it appears the " sentences of the oak" were here pronounced and writ- 
ten on bones. At a certain time of the year the Druids sat down in a 
consecrated grove of Mona, or Anglesea, whither all went to have their 
disputes settled."!" 

A beautiful description, by Lucan,of a consecrated grove of the Gauls 
near Marseilles, has been thus translated: 

Not far away, for ages past had stood 

An old, inviolated, sacred wood ; 

Whose gloomy boughs, thick interwoven, made 

A chilly, cheerless, everlasting shade : 

There, not the rustic gods, nor satyrs sport, 

Nor fawns and sylvans with the nymphs resort ; 

But barb'rous priests some dreadful power adore, 

And lustrate every tree with human gore. 

If mysteries in times of old received. 

And pious ancientry may be believed. 

There not the feathered songster builds her nest, 

Nor lonely dens conceal the savage beast : 

There no tempestuous winds presume to fly, 

Even lightnings glance aloof, and shoot obliquely by. 

No wanton breezes toss the wanton leaves, 

But shiv'ring horror in the branches heaves. 

Black springs, with pitchy streams, divide the ground, 

And, bubbliag, tumble with a sullen sound. 

Old images of forms misshapen stand, 

Rude, and unknowing of the artist's hand; 

With hoary filth begrimed, each ghastly head 

Strikes the astonished gazer's soul with dread. 

No gods, who long in common shape appeared, 

Were e'er with such religious awe revered ; 

But zealous crowds in ignorance adore. 

And still, the less they know, they fear the more. 



' St. Foix, Essay on Paris. t Richard of Cirencester, b. i. c. 4. § 13. 



DRESS OF THE DRUIDS. 467 

Oft, as fame tells, the earth in sounds of wo, 

Is heard to groan from hollow depths below ; 

The baleful yew, though dead, has oft been seen, 

To rise from earth, and spring with dusky green ; 

With sparkling flames the trees unburning shine,* 

And round their boles prodigious serpents twine. 

The pious worshippers approach not near, 

But shun their gods, and kneel with distant fear : 

The priest himself, when or the da}', or night. 

Rolling, have reached their full meridian height, 

Refrains the gloomy paths with wary feet, t 

Dreading the daemon of the grove to meet ; 

Who, terrible to sight, at that fixed hour 

Still treads the round about his dreary bower. 

This wood, near neighboring to the encompassed town 

Untouched by former wars remained alone ; 

And, since the country round it naked stands. 

From hence the Latian chief supplies demands. 

But lo ! the bolder hands that should have struck 

With some unusual horror, trembling shook ; 

With silent dread, and reverence they surveyed 

The gloom majestic of the sacred shade : 

None dares, with impious steel, the bark to rend 

Lest on himself the destined stroke descend. 

Caesar perceived the spreading fear to grow, 

Then, eager, caught an axe, and aimed a blow. 

Deep sunk, within a violated oak. 

The wounding edge, and thus the warrior spoke: — 

" Now, let no doubting hand the task decline ; 

Cut you the wood, and let the guilt be mine." 

The trembling bands unwillingly obeyed, 

Two various ills were in the balance laid. 

And Caesar's wrath against the gods was weighed. 

With grief and fear, the groaning Gauls beheld 

Their holy grove by impious soldiers felled ; 

While the Massilians, from the encompassed wall, 

Rejoiced to see the sylvan honors fall : 

They hope such power can never prosper long. 

Nor think the patient gods will bear the wrong. 

The two Druids forming the vignette to the last Chapter are from an 
engravmg in Montfaucon's splendid work, who appears to have copied 
them from Auberi's Antiquities d'Autun. The mace, or sceptre, car- 
ried by one is the drudical ensign of office. The Highlanders retain a tra- 
ditional knowledge of the slatan drui'achd, which they say was a white 
wand. The other carries the crescent, or first quarter of the moon, call- 
ed cornan by the Irish, of which some, formed of gold, have been found 
in that country. The robe of a Druid was pure white, indicating holi- 
ness and truth. The Pythagoreans held it improper to sacrifice to the 
gods in gaudy habits, but only in white and clean robes, for they raain- 

* The Gaelic Druilinn, or Druidhlann, the flame of the Druids, denoted a sudden 
gleam produced in their ceremonies. They appear to have been the inventors of gun- 
powder, or something similar. 



468 DIVISIONS OF TIME. 

tained that those so engaged should not only bring boQies free from gross 
and outward wickedness, but pure ana undefiled souls.* The bards 
wore a robe of sky blue color, the emblem of peace and sincerity. The 
robe of the ovydd, or ovate, was a bright green, the emblem of true 
learning, as being the uniform clothing of nature. Strabo describes 
the Druidesses as clothed in white linen cloaks fastened by clasps and 
girdles of brass work.| 

The knowledge of the Druids was profound. They taught, says Cae- 
sar, of the stars and their motion, the magnitude of countries, the nature 
of things, and the power of the gods. Talliesin, a Welsh bard of the sixth 
century, said, he knew the names of the stars from north to south; and 
his opinions, which must have been those of the order to which he be- 
longed, were, that there are seven elements — fire, earth, water, air, 
mist, atoms, and the animating wind; that there were seven sources of 
ideas — perception, volition, and the five senses, coinciding in this with 
Locke, He also says, there were seven spheres, with seven real plan- 
ets, and three that are aqueous. The planets were Sola, Luna, Mar- 
carucia, Venerus, Severus, and Saturnus; and he describes five zones, 
two of which were uninhabited, one from excessive cold, the other from 
excessive heat. J 

The Druids reckoned by nights and not by days, and held thirty years 
an age. The Gael call the spring ceituin, or ceuduin, literally the first 
season, or May, the Druidical year commencing at that time, an expres- 
sion that corresponds with the French printems and Italian primavera. 
The civic or artificial year began the 25th of December, on which occa- 
sion the lul feast, in honor of the sun, was held; and when it became a 
Christian festival the heathen fires were permitted, it being a practice, 
but lately discontinued, even in England to burn the Christmas log. 

The Highlanders call the year Bheil-aine, the circle of Bel, or the 
Sun. The days of the week are thus named: 

Sunday Dies Solis .... Di Sol. 

Monday Dies Lunse. . . . Di Luain. 

Tuesday Dies Martis . . . Di Mairt. 

Wednesday . . . .Dies Mercurii. . Di Ciadoin. 

Thursday .... Dies Jovis . . Di Taran. 

Friday Dies Veneris . Di Haoine. 

Saturday Dies Saturni . . Di Sathuirne. 

The affinity of the English, Latin, and Gaelic, is here plain, and cor- 
roborative of the observations in former pages. 

The knowledge which the Druids possessed of mathematics must have 
been great. The erection of their astonishing temples is, alone, proof 
of their skill, but the mode in which those immense stones were brought 
together, and piled up, cannot well be conceived, unless we admit the 

* The Irish say that, by the Brehon laws, a Druid had six cofors in his robe ; a re- 
markable difference from the Britons. 

t Douglas's Nen. Brit. p. 40. t Roberts's Early History of the Cumri. 



DPwUIDICAL KNOWLEDGE. 469 

use of machinerj^. A traveller in Greece, whose work I recently read, 
gives an account of a very ingenious manner of detaching large masses 
of stone from the native rock. In Bakewell's Travels, when speaking 
of the dissolution of the Alpine rocks by Hannibal, the writer supposes 
that the expansive power of vapor might be the means adopted. Count 
Rumford ascertained that a drachm of water, inclosed in a mass of iron 
the size of a solid 24-pounder, was sufficient to burst it, with a violent 
explosion, by the application of heat; and freezing, as is well known, 
will split the hardest rocks. It is, however, said that Hannibal used 
vinegar, a story that could scarcely have originated without some foun- 
dation in fact. The vinegar of the ancients, which could dissolve pearls, 
as in the case of Cleopatra, must have been very different from any kind 
now known. Whether the Druids used the above methods, or by what 
other means they procured the enormous blocks which they used, we 
cannot ascertain. It is no less difficult to conceive how they could 
have been poised on their ends. The natural supposition, which is, in- 
deed, corroborated by the description of an ancient author, is, that they 
were placed in the proper position by means of an inclined plane of 
earth, up which they were rolled, and at the highest end were slipped 
into their place. They were set on so true a perpendicular that, al- 
though some of the largest are not deeper in the ground than 1| or 2 
feet, they have never swerved from the upright. Considering the trou- 
ble with which they must have been procured, it can scarcely be sup- 
posed their height would have been needlessly lessened. It is a tra- 
dition among the Highlanders, that the Druids worked at night and 
rested during the day. 

The Druids were physicians, and their medical knowledge, which was 
by no means small, has elsewhere been spoken of The Feryllt of 
Talliesin was skilled in every thing requiring the operation of fire, and 
this comprising botany, from the duty of selecting plants for the mystical 
caldron, the name in time came to signify chemists. 

It is not surprising that a religion so venerated and universal should 
be long, ere it finally gave way to the establishment of Christianity. 
" Under the specious pretext of abolishing human sacrifices, the Em- 
perors Tiberius and Claudius suppressed the dangerous power of the 
Druids; but the priests themselves, their gods, and their altars, subsist- 
ed in peaceful obscurity till the final destruction of paganism."* The 
latest mention of the Gallic Druids appears to be by Ammianus Marcel- 
linus, who flourished in the latter end of the fourth century; in Britain 
the religion certainly remained to a period considerably later. 

Talliesin, who lived in the sixth century, was initiated in the myste- 
ries of Druidism; nay. Prince Hywell, who died in 1171, thus invokes 
the deity, " Attend thou my worship in the mystical grove, and whilst I 
adore thee, maintain thy own jurisdiction." A manuscript of the twelfth 
or thirteenth century, which contains a life of Columba, relates that the 

* Gibbon, from Suetonius. Pliny, xxx. 1, «fcc. 



470 DECLINE OF DRUIDISM. 

Saint going to Bruidhi Mac Milcon, King of the Picts, his son Maelchu, 
with his Druid, argued Keenly against Columba in support of paganisna.* 

A curious dialogue is preserved, in which Ossian and St. Patrick dis- 
pute, concerning the merits of their respective religions. The bard con- 
trasts the pitiful songs of the apostle with his own poems, and extols the 
virtues of Fingal, m reward for which he believed he was then enjoying 
the delights of the aerial existence; but the saint assures him that, not- 
withstanding the worth of Fingal, being a pagan he was assuredly at 
that time roasting in hell. The choler of the honest Caledonian rising 
at this, he passionately exclaims, " If the children of Morni and the 
many tribes of the clan Ovi were alive, we would force brave Fingal out 
of hell, or the habitation should be our own." 

Druidism was so powerfully assailed in the Southern parts of the 
Island, that its votaries took refuge in the North, and the Island of lona 
became its most sacred retreat, to which the Welsh are said to have 
made frequent pilgrimage. So well settled did it become in these parts, 
that Gwenddollen, the Ard-dhruid, is represented by Merddyn or Merlin, 
his priest, as "gathering his contributions from every extremity of the 
land;" but it was not maintained without difficulty, and in other parts it 
was more vigorously attacked, and its votaries bitterly persecuted. 
Merddyn deplores that the rites of his religion dared not be practised in 
" raised circles," for " the gray stones they even removed." 

When Colan, or Columba, established himself in li, or lona, it was 
the death blow to Druidism in Scotland. He had, however, according 
to tradition, a great respect for the order, although he opposed their 
doctrines and burnt their books, and did actually with King Aidan inter- 
cede for the Irish bards at the council of Drumceat, and procured a 
modification of their punishment, the profession not being abolished, but 
restricted to Ulster and Dalriada. On the suppression of Druidism in 
lona, it is said that the Welsh carried away many of the mystical instru- 
ments, which a partial revival of the system in their own country, ena- 
bled them for several centuries to use. 

This singular religion influenced, in no small degree, the early Chris- 
tians, who mixed a great deal of the ancient superstition with the cere- 
monies of the church. By a council of Lateran in 452, the adoration of 
stones in woods and places now decayed, v/as forbidden; and Gregory 
of Tours, a writer of the sixth century, shows that woods, waters, birds, 
beasts, and stones, were still worshipped. | Pope Gregory III., about 
740, prohibits the Germans from sacrifices or auguries beside sacred 
groves or fountains. So difficult is it to wean people from the religion 
of their fathers, and that which has been long venerated, that the first 
Christians were obliged to conciliate their proselytes by tolerating some 
of their prejudices; perhaps they themselves were somewhat affected by 
a respect for ancient usages. When Ethelred, as Malmesbury informs 

* Report of the Highland Society on the Poems of Ossian, App. 311. 
t Keysler, p. 63. 



RELIGIOUS FEELINGS OF THE GAEL. 471 

us, was to hear Augustine preach, he refused to enter a house with him, 
but sat in the open air, actuated, it is probable, by the persuasion that 
the Deity should not be worshipped under cover. 

Various enactments were passed against practices that must have 
originated in the times of Druidism, without effecting their abolition. 
One observance, that of decking houses and churches with evergreens 
and misletoe, under which, in presumed imitation of the Druids, it is 
customary to kiss the maids, has survived in England to the present 
day. At the close of the tenth century, stones were revered in Ireland; 
but this is not very remarkable, since they are even yet looked upon by 
the Gael with a degree of awe. James Shaw, bard to Campbell of Loch- 
nell, reproaches one Finlay for destroying these venerable monuments; 
he supposes a Druid appears, and charges him to convey his displeas- 
ure to the sacrilegious offender, who, being a merchant, is told that his 
unhallowed work is a more serious affair than cheating the Glasgow tra- 
ders. It has been carefully noted, that none who ever meddled with the 
Druids' stones prospered in this world. 

Turgot, confessor to Queen Margaret, says that the Scots celebrated 
mass with barbarous rites; and Scaliger remarks that the popery of Ire- 
land was mixed with much paganism. More has been shown in preced- 
ing pages of the mixture of ancient superstition with Christianity among 
the Gael of both countries. The Culdee clergy succeeded the Druid- 
ical order. 

It has been remarked that the Highlanders seldom or ever meddle 
with religion, and the late General Stewart has some very sensible re- 
marks on their tolerant spirit, mixed, however, with regret that sectaries 
should have been able to infuse among them a spirit of cavilling and 
dispute on religious topics. He deplores that, instead of the contented 
plain Christian-like satisfaction formerly to be found among them, they 
occupy themselves too frequently in " disputes of interminable length." 
The example of the chief was formerly almost sufficient authority for the 
religion which the clan professed. Mac Lean of Coll converted his 
tenants in Mull from Popery, by meeting them when going to chapel, 
and driving them into a barn where the Presbyterian clergyman was to 
preach, and having on this occasion used a gold-headed cane; it passed 
into a saying that their religion was that of the yellow-headed stick. 
The Highlanders were, however, too liberal to molest any on account 
of their religious principles; and Martin mentions a person who alone 
professed the Catholic religion in a populous island of Protestants. 

It must be allowed that the Highlands have, until lately, been ex- 
tremely ill supplied with spiritual instruction, some of the parishes being 
of incredible size. It is related that a Lowland clergyman at the gen- 
eral assembly urged his necessity for an augmentation of stipend, on 
account of the largeness of his parish. He was asked its size, when he 
said eight miles in breadth; on which a member immediately replied that 
his was more than ten; mine is twenty, says another; mine is thirty; 



472 MARRIAGE CEREMONIES. 

forty, said a third and fourth; and others could have proved their 
oarochial districts considerably larger. Missionaries, or assistants, have 
now been established in suitable places, it is to be hoped, with much 
advantage to the people : the morality and former happiness of the High- 
landers reflect credit on themselves and on their spiritual teachers, who 
labored with such success in so extended a field. 



MARRIAGE CEREMONIES. 

In Chapter V. some remarks have been offered on the intercourse 
of the sexes, when speaking of the mercheta mulierum. The Celts, 
it has been there said, are charged with a neglect of their women, and 
a disregard to the proper regulation of the married state, that could 
but ill accord with the condition of a people in any degree civilized. 
Ten or twelve Britons, it is said, espoused a virgin each, and tak- 
ing up their abode together, they lived in promiscuous cohabitation, 
but the children of each woman was considered as belonging to the 
man who had originally married the mother. The custom which con- 
tinued until lately in some parts, and yet subsists among a few of the 
rudest, who sleep all together on straw or rushes, according to the 
general ancient practice, there is reason to believe, led to the asper- 
sion cast on the British and Irish tribes. How natural it must have 
been for a casual observer to suppose from seeing men and women re- 
posing in the same place, that the marriage rites were not in force. To 
judge of the ancient inhabitants by the rudest of the present Highland- 
ers and Irish, who often sleep in the same apartment, and are some- 
times exposed to each other in a state of semi-nudity, we should not 
come to a conclusion unfavorable to their morality, for this mode of life 
is not productive of that conjugal infidelity which St. Jerome and others 
insinuate as prevalent among the old Scots. Solinus, indeed, says the 
women in Thule were common, the king having a free choice; and Dio 
says the Caledonians had wives in common : yet these assertions may 
well be disputed. Strabo describes the Irish as extremely gross in this 
matter; O'Conner says polygamy was permitted; and Derrick tells us 
they exchanged wives once or twice a year; while Campion says they 
only married for a year and day, sending their wives home again for any 
slight offence ; but notwithstanding the attempt of Sir William Temple to 
show the advantages of such loose connexion, it is reasonable to believe 
that it did not exist, at least to the extent represented. Nations that 
are even in a savage state are sometimes found more sensitive on that 
point of honor than nations more advanced in civilisation; and all, per- 
haps, that can be admitted is, that certain formalities may have been 
practised by the Britons, from which the bundling of the Welsh, and 
the hand-fisting in some parts of Scotland, are derived. The conver- 
sation which took place between the Empress Julia and the wife of a 



MARRIAGE CEREMONIES. 473 

Caledonian chief, as related by Xiphilin, certainly evinces a grossness and 
indelicacy in the amours of the British ladies, if true; but it appears to 
be a reply where wit and reproof were more aimed at than truth. The 
case of the Empress Cartismandua shows the nice feeling of the Britons 
as to the propriety of female conduct. The respect of the Germans for 
their females, and the severity with which they visited a deviation from 
virtue, have been described ; and the farther testimony of Tacitus may 
be adduced, who says that but very few of the greatest dignity chose to 
have more than one wife, and when they did, it was merely for the hon- 
or of alliance. It may here be stated that the Gael have no word to 
express cuckold, and that prostitutes were, by Scots' law, like that of 
the ancient Germans, thrown into deep wells; and a woman was not per- 
mitted to complain of an assault if she allowed more than one night to 
elapse before the accusation. 

The Gauls, according to Caesar, had no sexual intercourse before 
twenty. The Germans were equally long before they partook of con- 
nubial happiness; they married in the prime of life, and the parties were 
matched in stature as well as disposition, and this was not only with a 
view to their own happiness, but to insure a fine family. 

The ceremonies of courtship and marriage among the Celts were not 
tedious, but the latter was never consummated without consulting the 
Druidess and her purin, which was five stones thrown up and caught on 
the back of the hand, called, says Vailancey, by the Irish, Seic seona, 
now corrupted into jackstones.* The ancient Irish presented their lov- 
ers with bracelets of womens' hair. Duchomar, a Caledonian hero, 
recommends his suit to Morna, by saying he had slain a stately deer 
for her. The Gauls brought a portion equal to that of the women, and 
the united product was reserved for the survivor. "f Among the Germans 
the husband gave the wife a dowery — oxen, and a horse accoutred, a 
shield, with a sword and javelin; and the parents attended to approve of 
these presents, by whose acceptance the damsel was espoused. The 
oxen in the same yoke, we are told, indicated that the wife was hence- 
forth to be a partner with the husband in his hazards and fatigues. The 
arms which she received, with certain others which she also, it appears, 
brought to her husband, she preserved for her sons, whose wives might 
again receive them.j The father of a bride among the old Highlanders 
gave his arms to his son-in-law. Spelman remarks that the Irish dowers 
were bestowed exactly in the manner of the old Germans. 

The Highlanders give dowers according to their means, cattle, provi- 
sions, farmstocking, &c. ; and where the parents are unable to provide 
sufficiently, it is customary in Scotland for a newly-married couple to 
'•'thig," or collect grain, &c. from their neighbors, by which means they 
procure as much as will serve for the first year, and often more. The 
portion of a bride is called a tocher. The wedding feasts are scenes of 
great mirth and hospitality. It is often the case that they are "siller 

* Brande's Pop. Ant. xlviii. t Bello Gall. vi. 17. t Tacitus. 

60 



474 • MARRIAGE CEREMONIES. 

bridals;" otherwise, those in which the parties are paid for the enter 
tainment, which is sometimes resorted to as a means of raising a few 
pounds to begin the world with; but the feasts are generally free, and 
consist of an abundance of every thing. In the Highlands the company 
occasionally get breakfast, dinner, and supper, and there is sometimes 
so numerous an attendance that many sheep are killed for their enter- 
tainment. A Mull wedding feast is thus described : — a long table is 
placed in a barn or outhouse, on which is set, at convenient distances, 
meat, with eggs, oatbread, and potatoes, and near every third person a 
whole cheese and a lump of butter; the whisky, or other liquor, is pro- 
vided by the bridegroom, but the rest of the entertainment is furnished 
by the parents of the bride. In Tiri, another of the Western Isles, a 
respectable marriage feast was provided with a profusion of mutton, tur- 
keys, geese, ducks, fowls, custards, puddings, vegetables, butter, cheese, 
oatbread, milk, and whisky, all provided by the parents of the bride, ex- 
cept she has only a mother, in which case the bridegroom is thought 
bound to bear the expense.* 

In the Isle of INIan, the relations always bring something to a mar- 
riage feast. On one platter you may sometimes see a dozen capons, on 
another six or eight fat geese — sheep and hogs are roasted whole, and 
oxen cut up in quarters. "j" 

Dr. Henry says that within twenty or thirty years, when a party in 
Orkney agreed to marry, they went to the temple of the moon, which 
was semi-circular, and there the woman fell on her knees and invoked 
Woden, a singular relict of superstition. The ring was a badge of the 
married state among the Celts, and was worn both in Gaul and Briton 
on the middle finger. That used among the Northern nations seems to 
have been nearly as large as to admit the whole hand. 

A marriage company, among the Galatians, all drank out of the same 
cup. When the German bride entered in the morning she was clothed 
in a white robe, and was crowned with herbs and flowers, particularly 
vervain, which was sacred to Venus. A Lusitanian woman was taken 
into the house with a sort of violence, her husband dragging her from 
the arms of her brother, and she was preceded to her new residence by 
a personvwho implored the favor of Hymen to the happy couple. 

A very ancient custom of carrying off a wife by force, remains in 
some parts of Ireland to this day. In 1767, a girl was carried off in the 
county of Kilkenny, but was rescued and married to another party. 
The disappointed lover raised his friends, and, provided with arms, they 
besieged the house, in order to recover the prize, and although they 
were beaten off it was not before lives were lost. 

A Scotish bride was expected to show a reluctance, and require a 
certain degree of violence, which was neither thought unbecoming in 
the man, nor a hardship to the woman; many instances being found of 

* Mrs. Murray's Guide. On this subject " the Bridal of Caolchairn," by Mr. Hay, 
will be read with interest. t Waldron's Hist. p. 1G9. 



MARRIAGE CEREMONIES. 475 

happy unions, accompanied with apparent force and cruelty. The prac- 
tice was sometimes, however, carried too far, and the real violence 
which was used constituted the raptus, or forcible abduction of women, 
of which so many instances occur in the legal history of the country. 
The unfortunate Lovat was accused of this crime, in having married, 
without the lady's consent, and actually cut her dress from her person 
with a dirk ! An old north country song, entitled " Lord Saltoun and 
Achanachie," alludes to a similar act of deforcement, 

" When she was married she would na' ly down, 
But they took out a knife and cut oiFher gown." 

One of the sons of the celebrated Rob Roy was hanged for carrying 
off the heiress of Balfron, more, however, apparently against her friends' 
consent than her own, for she lived some time contentedly with him in 
the Highlands. 

In the pastoral districts of Ireland the parents and mutual friends 
meet on a hill side, usually midway between their respective dwellings, 
and there drink " the agreement bottle" of whisky. This settled, the 
father, or next of kin to the bride, sends round to his neighbors and 
friends, and every one gives his cow or heifer, by which means the por- 
tion is soon raised. Caution is, however, taken of the bridegroom on 
the day of delivery for restitution of the cattle, should the bride die 
childless, in which case, within a stipulated time, each receives back 
his own; care being thus taken that no man get rich by frequent mar- 
riage. On the day of " home bringing," the bridegroom and his friends 
ride out to the place of treaty, where they meet the bride, and the cus- 
tom of old was to cast short darts at the bride's company, but at such a 
distance as seldom to occasion any wounds; "yet it is not out of the 
memory of man that the Lord Hoath on such an occasion lost an eye. 
This custom is now obsolete." * 

The following observances at a wedding in Wales, if not entirely dis- 
used, are fast dying away. Some weeks previous, a person well known 
in the parish, went round inviting all, without limitation or distinction, to 
attend. The company assembled the evening previous to the ceremony 
at the bride's father's, the bridegroom arriving accompanied by music. 
The bride and her retinue were then shut up in a room, and the house 
doors being locked, the company made loud demands for admittance 
until the bride's maid opened a window and assisted the bridegroom to 
enter, after which the doors were opened and the party admitted. After 
a few hours dancing and a refreshment of oatcake and spiced ale, the 
bride's maid and company retired: the bridegroom returning early next 
day with all his friends, preceded by a harper playing "come haste to 
the wedding." They were joined by the bride at her father's, who, 
along with her brother or other male relation, took their station behind 

* That is about 1682. Sir H. Pier's Description of Westmeath, ap. Vallancey'a 
Coll. i. p. 122. 



476 MARRIAGE CEREMONIES. 

the bridegroom, with their retinue of friends, and all proceeded to 
church. On leaving the church the harper played "joy to the bride- 
groom," and the bride and her maid having changed partners, they all 
went to a part of the churchyard, if such there was, unappropriated for 
interment, and there danced to the tunes of " the beginning of the world," 
and " my wife shall have her way." They then adjourned home where 
various sorts of bread, ale, and cheese, were prepared, and a collection 
for the bride was made, a benevolence which was not always in money; 
sometimes the friends and neighbors went the night before, carrying 
presents of grain, meal, cheese, &c. It is a practice among the better 
sort in these days for the bride to remain with her parents for some 
weeks, and when she goes to her husband, the furniture which she has 
provided, and which is called starald, is removed with much ceremony, 
every article being moved in succession, according to fixed rules. The 
next day the young couple are attended by the younger part of their 
friends, and this is called a turmant.* When parties separated in thiss 
country, by Hwyel's laws, the property was equally divided. 

There are several other observances that are to be referred to the 
original Britons, such as the cake broken over the head of the Scot's 
bride, on her first entering her future residence. It is a curious prac- 
tice of newly married women to commence spinning and preparing linen 
for their shroud. The bard who attended a marriage was entitled to 
the bridegroom's plaid and bonnet. 

Many superstitious movements and notions were occasioned by a 
woman's confinement, that are not worth observance. In some parts of 
the Highlands, we learn from Mrs. Murray, when near her time, a large 
knife and a spade were laid under the bedstead, and beneath the pillow 
was placed the bible, while salt was plentifully strewed about the doors 
to avert the fairies. These unearthly creatures derive the Gaelic name, 
sithich, from sith, a sudden attempt to grasp, which accords with their 
known propensity to carry off children. They lived under little green 
mounts, called sith dhuin, which are still approached by the Highland- 
ers with veneration, certainly from the supposed residence of these 
beings, and not from their being " hills of peace," as Dr. Smith thinks. 

The Gallic women delighted in a numerous family. f The mode of 
rearing children has been described. They were inured to hardship and 
brought up in military virtue, and rude, but imposing, simplicity of man- 
ners. No rights of primogeniture, or undue partiality, engendered 
feelings of discord and contention — they were alike excluded from mi.x- 
nig in society, or even appearing before their parents in public, until 
they were able to bear arms. The children of the Germans were held 
in the same estimation by their mother's brother as by their father, 
which, says Tacitus, was an inviolable tie. 

* A. B. Table Book, ii. 793. 

+ The Thracian women laid their new born children on the earth and wept over 
them. Les diff. Moeurs, &c. 1670. 



FUNERAL RITES. 477 

Baptism, it has been shown, was a heathen rite; with the Christian 
ceremony the Celts retained many superstitious practices. Handing 
the infant over the fire, sometimes in a basket, in which bread and 
cheese were placed, which the Highlanders, I believe, yet perform in 
christening their offspring, is believed to counteract the power of spirits. 
It certainly originated in some of the druidical services to Baal, and is 
perhaps the " passing through the fire to Moloch," which the Scriptures 
notice as a Gentile custom. The Irish hung about children's necks a 
crooked nail, a horseshoe, or a piece of wolves' skin, not forgetting a 
bit of St. John's gospel, and both it and the mother, or nurse, were girt 
with belts of womens' hair, finely plaited.* In the Highlands it has 
been said they sometimes baptised a child over a broad sword. It was 
a notion until lately, that faint voices of children who had not received 
this mark of consecration were heard in the woods bewailing. 



FUNERAL RITES. 

The Druids, elevating their minds to the most sublime conceptions, 
boldly asserted the immortality of the soul. This belief inspired the 
Celts with that contempt of death which led to those deeds of heroism 
by which they signalized themselves. The sublime doctrines of one 
supreme God, and a state of blessed existence hereafter, must have had 
wonderful effects on this race, naturally of a sanguine temperament. 
The belief that a place of happiness awaited them in another world, led 
them often to seek it by self-destruction, when pressed by the adversities 
of fortune. The Celtic mothers would kill their children to prevent 
their falling into the hands of the enemy, and the children would without 
compunction destroy their parents. 

Boiscalus, the high-minded but unfortunate chief of the Ansibarians, 
who were obliged to fight for their very existence, which their utmost 
efforts could not at last preserve, piously addressing the Sun, appealed 
to his enemies whether, the heavens being the residence of the gods, as 
the earth was that of the children of men, such portion of it as none pos- 
sessed should be free to the destitute, but his unhappy situation and ear- 
nest supplication only produced an offer from Avitus, the Roman gene- 
ral, of ample lands for himself, if he would betray his people." " A 
place to live in," replied the hero, "we may want, but a place to die 
we cannot," and they perished to the last man.f 

The Gauls who lived at the foot of the Alps, being attacked by the 
Romans, surrounded and unable to escape, killed their wives and chil- 
dren and threw themselves into the flames. Some who were surprised 
and made prisoners, afterwards committed suicide, some with iron, some 
by strangulation, and some by refusing all food. J The Japides, also, 

* Memorable things noted in a Description of the World, 
t Tacitus' Annals, xiii. I Orosius, v. 15. 



478 MODES OF INTERMENT. 

to prevent any thing of theirs from falling into the hands of Csesar, slew 
themselves, their wives, and children, and a few who were taken alive 
speedily put an end to their captivity by voluntary deaths.* The Gallo- 
Grecian prisoners attempted to gnaw asunder their iron chains, and of- 
fered their throats to be strangled by each other. "j" The Gauls, believing 
that they should rejoin their friends in another state of existence, did not 
hesitate to accompany them across that bourne, which even Christians 
think of with doubt and anxiety. The confidence of the Celt in his fu- 
ture existence was full, and he would write letters to those friends who 
had gone before and transmit them at the obsequies of the deceased. J 
The Gallic prisoners in Hannibal's army fought by lot, and the surviv- 
ors, with bitter regret, complained of their hard fate in not having fall- 
en. § The wives of the Teutons, after their defeat, offered to surrender 
on condition that, with their children, they should be received as the 
slaves of the Vestals, who served that deity which themselves revered, 
but their request being denied, they escaped the vengeance and insult 
of their enemies by mutual destruction. Innumerable instances are 
recorded of the suicide of individuals after defeat or disappointment. 
Cativulcus, king of the Eburones, poisoned himself with an extract of 
yew. Brennus, on his discomfiture at Delphos, either ran himself 
through with a sword or drank wine until he died, Aneroeste and Dras- 
ses, two other chiefs, destroyed themselves by starvation, and the heroic 
Bonduca put an end to her existence by poison, and was sumptuously 
buried by her sorrowing followers. Many of the Caledonians, on their 
defeat at the Grampians, relieved their minds from the dread of witness- 
ing their wives and children exposed to the outrage of the Roman sol- 
diery, by laying violent hands on them. 

The ancient Celts sometimes burned the bodies of their deceased 
friends, and sometimes interred them without that ceremony. It is prob- 
able that the latter practice was in use by the poor, yet in the same sep- 
ulchre there have been found entire skeletons as well as urns containing 
the ashes of those bodies that had been submitted to cremation. The 
Irish, according to Ware, who quotes an ancient authority, " preserved 
that cleanly custom" long after the introduction of Christianity. The 
Picts in Columba's time did not burn their dead, but Sturleson says, 
the practice was more ancient among the Northern nations than that of 
burial. This is, however, improbable; the most obvious method to dis- 
pose of the dead is by simple interment. Even the Romans at first 
buried the dead, and only began the practice of burning the bodies in 
consequence of hearing that those slain in war were often disinterred, 
and the practice was not universally adopted; many refused to have their 
bodies consumed by fire, and preferred plain burial, like Varro, who, dy- 
ing at an advanced age, ordered his corpse to be decked with shrubs 
and fiowers.ji The Gauls had numerous lights at their funerals, IT and 

* Dio. xlix. p. 403. t Florus, ii. 11. t Diodorus. v. 

§ Polybius, iii. 139. || Pliny, vii. 54. xxxv. 12. IT Durand, de Ritibus. 



MODES OF INTERMENT. 479 

we find that the Christians did not object to carrying torches on these 
occasions, as it was an innocent practice. 

At the funerals of the Germans, says Tacitus, this is carefully observ- 
ed; with the bodies of eminent men certain woods are burned. On the 
funeral pile they put neither apparel nor perfumes, but throw into the fire 
the arms of the deceased, and sometimes also his horse. In Gaul, those 
slaves who had been most loved by their masters sacrificed themselves 
at their funerals. It was usual among this people to burn bonds and 
accounts from a belief that the person would require them in the other 
world;* and persons would lend money to deceased friends relying on 
its repayment when they met in the state of future existence. It is a 
reasonable conjecture, that the articles which were used in life by the 
parties were buried with them, that they might have them to use here- 
after. A stone hammer has often been found in Celtic graves, and on 
monuments presumed to belong to that people, this instrument, formed 
like 1 and 2 in the plate, is often represented either by itself or in the 
hand of a figure. The body of a stout man was found interred at 
Wilsford, in Wiltshire, at whose feet a massy stone hammer was placed, 
and the remains of the ancient inhabitants of Scotland are often discov- 
ered with the same implement beside them. It was, indeed, a Celtic 
practice to deposit in the grave whatever had been particularly esteemed 
by its tenant when alive, or was deemed necessary for use in the next 
world, and certain articles indicated the rank of the deceased. I 

Different methods of interment are found to have been practised; and 
antiquaries seem agreed that a most ancient position is that in which the 
limbs are drawn up to the body. It is likely, that the wishes of individ- 
uals respecting their mode of sepulture occasioned that diversity which 
is discovered. At Largo, in Fifeshire, a stone coffin, found beneath a 
cairn, contained a skeleton, of which the legs and arms had been care- 
fully severed from the trunk, and laid across it.| The bodies are also 
found lying in various positions. 

At Evreux, in 1685, sixteen or eighteen interments were discovered, 
the bodies in which were placed side by side, their faces turned to the 
mid-day sun, the arms down by their sides, and every one had a stone 
under the head. A stone hatchet was placed beside each, and one was 
formed of a precious stone. There were also arrow heads of the same 
materials, and bones, apparently of horses, sharpened for spear heads, 
and a piece of deer's horn was fitted to receive one of the axes. There 
were also urns, and near them a great quantity of half-burnt bones, and 
a vase full of charcoal resting on a heap of stones and covered by a lay- 
er of ashes li foot. thick. A large stone, almost round, on which were 
three smaller ones was also found in this very curious sepulchre. The 
bodies were of the common stature, and one of the skulls had been frac- 
tured in two places, but had been subsequently cured. § Another place 

* Mela, iii. 2. t Val. Max. ii. 6. 

t Stat. Account, iv. 538. § Montfaucon's Antiq. Expliq. x. 105. 



480 MODES OF INTERMENT. 

of interment was discovered in 1685, at Cocherell, in France, where 
eight skeletons were found side by side, each with a flint stone under 
the head, and several stone hammers. On the summit of the hill on 
which the tomb was found, were two stones about five feet in length. 

It appears to have been an almost universal custom to deposit arms in 
the grave of a deceased warrior. Quintus Curtius relates that when 
Alexander the Great caused the sepulchre of Cyrus to be opened, there 
were found a shield, two bows, and a battle-axe. This practice was 
characteristic of a military nation, and the belief that warlike deeds were 
peculiarly acceptable to the gods, was strong in the Celtic race. In the 
mythology of the Northern nations, it was thought that to fall in battle 
was a sure passport to the hall of Odin, and the arms of a warrior, espe- 
cially his sword, were carefully placed in the grave with his remains.* 
That the Gauls deposited arms with the dead is shown by numerous 
discoveries. In the grave of Childeric, and other kings of France, 
their swords, javelins, and other weapons, have been found, and in 
Britain the fact is still oftener proved. 

The mode of interment among the ancient Scots was thus. A grave, 
six or eight feet deep, was made, the bottom of which was lined with fine 
clay, and on this the body was placed, along with the sword, if the per- 
son had signalized himself in war, and if a high character, the heads of 
twelve arrows. Above the body another stratum of clay was laid, in 
which a deer's horn, as the symbol of hunting, with the favorite dog, 
were placed, and the whole was finished by a covering of fine mould. 
Lord Auchinleck writes, in 1764, to Dr. Blair, in proof of the veracity 
of description in Ossian's poems, that several tumuli had been opened 
near the kirk of Alves, in Badenach, which contained each a skeleton, 
with the horn of a deer placed at right angles with it. A sepulchral 
mound at Everley, in Wiltshire, which was opened by Sir Richard 
Hoare, discovered three feet from the top, the skeleton of a dog, and at 
the depth of five feet in the bottom of the grave, were the bones and 
ashes of a human being. They were piled up in a small heap, which 
was surrounded by a circular wreath of horns of the red deer, and amid 
the ashes were five beautiful arrow heads of flint, with a small red peb- 
ble. In that ancient and beautiful poem called the "Aged Bard's 
Wish," he requests his harp, a shell of liquor, and his ancestor's shield, 
to be buried with him. In Umad's Lament on Gorban, a white hound, 
of which he was extremely fond, he tells the animal that they should 
again meet on the clouds of their rest.t 

Nature seems to have implanted in the human heart a desire to honor 
the dead by raising some sort of memorial over theiV remains. Hero- 
dotus says, the Scythians labored to raise as high a mound as they 
could, over the grave of a departed hero. Heaps of earth or stones 
were always raised over the graves of the Celts; the latter, from the 
abundance of the materia ls, being chiefly used by the Scots, Welsh, and 
* Keysler. t Manos, in Smith's Gallic Ant. p. 255. 



SEPULCHRAL MONUMENTS. 481 

Irish They are denominated Cairns by the Gael, and are sometimes of 
prodigious size, the effect being often increased by their position on 
hills. Some are 300 or 400 feet in circumference at the base, and 20, 
30, or 40 feet in perpendicular height. The quantity of stones compos- 
ing these artificial mountains is astonishing; some of them have served 
as quarries, whence neighboring farmers have supplied themselves with 
materials for building and inclosing for years, without entirely removing 
them. Many have, indeed, been swept away in the progress of improve- 
ment, but they are still numerous in Scotland, and continue "to speak 
to other years" of unknown transactions. " Gray stones, a mound of 
earth, shall send my name to other times," says the bard of ancient 
days; but, alas! neither the size of the Cairn, the careful formation of 
the barrow, nor the impressive " stone of fame," has been able to trans- 
mit a knowledge of the persons to whose memory they were reared. 
Tradition has, with few exceptions, failed to preserve the name or the 
history of "the dark dwellers of the tomb." Cairns were sometimes 
surrounded by an inclosure of stones, and sometimes they were sur- 
mounted by a rude obelisk. There is a particular sort in some of the 
Western Isles, called barpinin, a Norwegian word, according to Dr. 
Mac Pherson. 

The well known practice among the Highlanders of throwing a stone 
to a cairn, on passing, is connected with two different feelings. In the 
one case, it arose from the respect which was had for the deceased, 
whose memory they wished to prolong by increasing the size of his 
funeral mount, and hence arose a saying, intended to gratify a person 
while alive, that the speaker should not fail to add stones to the cairn. 
It would appear that the soul was considered much pleased with this at- 
tention, and with the honor of a great monument, in which respect the 
old Germans seem to have differed from the Celts, for they raised sods 
of earth only above the grave, conceiving that large monuments were 
grievous to the deceased. The other motive for throwing stones to aug- 
ment a cairn, was to mark with execration the burial-place of a crimi- 
nal, the practice, according to Dr. Smith, having been instituted by the 
Druids. It is curious that the same method should be adopted with 
views so different; yet the fact is so, and the author has often, in his 
youth, passed the grave of a suicide, on which, according to custom, he 
never failed to fling a stone. The true motive in this case seems to have 
been to appease the spirit which, by the Celtic mythology, was doomed 
to hover beside the unhallowed sepulchre. On the death of a respected 
individual, his followers assisted in raising a suitable cairn; and, cher- 
ishing his memory, the whole clan met on certain days and repaired or 
augmented it. The sepulchral tumuli in England are termed barrows. 
The appellation is very similar to the Hebrew Kebera, used by Abra- 
ham for a burying place, and is allied to the German barke, the Saxon 
beorgen, to hide, the English burrow, bury, &c. 

The barrow was formed with much nicety, and varied in size and in 

61 



482 SEPULCHRAL MONUMENTS. 

shape. The plain of Salisbury, that interesting field of ancient sepul- 
ture, contains the most beautiful specimens of all the sorts which anti- 
quaries appear to have yet discovered. They are the long barrow, the 
bell, the bowl, the Druid, the pond, the twin, the cone, and the broad 
barrows, all of which are described by Sir Richard Hoare. 

The simple tumulus seems the most ancient sepulchral monument. It 
was raised by Greeks and Trojans, and was common to Romans, Gauls^ 
Germans, and other European nations ^000 years ago. Charlemagne, 
wishing to put a stop to heathen practices, decreed that Christians 
should have grave stones and not pagan tumuli. The Celts certainly on 
one occasion evinced a shocking carelessness of the last duty. After 
the desperate battle of Thermopylas, they asked no truce to bury their 
dead; for which brutality, Pausanias can suggest no excuse, but that 
they may have intended to strike terror into the Greeks, by displaying a 
savage indifference to the usages of all other people. 

Both in cairns and barrows are found the kistvaens, or rude stone 
receptacles for the body, usually formed of a flat slab at the bottom, one 
or more at each side and end, and another placed on the top. If Mac 
Pherson's translation of a passage in " the Songs of Selma" is correct, 
these stones were raised above the grave. " Narrow is thy dwelling 
now! dark the place of thine abode! with three steps I compass thy 
grave, O thou who wast so great before! four stones with their heads of 
moss are the only memorials of thee, a tree with scarce a leaf " Vari- 
ous interments are often found in one place, indicating that tumuli were 
a sort of family burial places; they may, however, have been used at 
distant periods by different people. 

Besides the barrow, or cairn, the British tribes erected either a single 
large stone, or several of lesser size, to mark a place of burial. Fingal's 
supposed place of interment, near Loch Tay, is indicated by six "gray 
stones," and in Glenamon stood Clach Ossian, a block seven feet high 
and two broad, which, coming in the line of the military road. Marshal 
Wade overturned it by machinery, when the remains of the bard and 
hero were found, accompanied with twelve arrow heads. So great re- 
spect had the Highlanders for this rude, but impressive monument, that 
they burned with indignation at the ruthless deed. All they could do 
they did — the relicks of Ossian were carefully collected, and borne off 
by a large party of Highlanders, to a place where they were thought 
secure from farther disturbance. The stone is said still to remain with 
four smaller, surrounded by an inclosure, and retains its appellation of 
Cairn na Huseoig, or Cairn of the Lark, apparently from the sweet 
singing of the bard. The veneration of the Scots for the graves of their 
ancestors is becoming ; the Welsh seem to have less of this feeling, the 
grave of Talliesin, their renowned bard, having been violated, and the 
stones carried off for servile uses. In some work which now escapes 
my memory, it is said, that three stones usually composed the tomb of a 
male person, two indicating that of a female. It seems to have been an 



WAKING A CORPSE. 483 

ancient practice, but perhaps of Christian origin, to bury the males and 
females apart. In lona the custom was retained within these sixty 
years. 

Among the Caledonians, a fir tree appears to have been often planted 
on or near the tomb of a warrior: — " a tree stands alone on the hill and 
marks the slumbering Connal." The taxus, or yew, the Romans ac- 
counted " tristis ac dira," but the picea, or pitch tree, called pades by 
the Gauls, may have been that which was the symbol of death; Pliny 
says it was commonly seen at burial places in Italy,* and a branch of it 
was stuck at the doors of houses containing a corpse. By the ancient 
Welsh laws, a consecrated or holy yew was valued at a pound. 

On occasion of a death all fires are extinguished, and the Highland- 
ers put a wooden or other platter, with salt and earth unmixed, on the 
breasts of the dead, the earth being an emblem of the body and the salt 
of the spirit. Watching a corpse has, perhaps, been used from the infan- 
cy of time. A tourist describes the manner in which the old Highland- 
ers performed this. Having met, with a bagpipe or fiddle, the nearest 
and elderly relations, for the young people were not so lugubrious, open- 
ed a melancholy ball, dancing and weeping till daylight. At these 
meetings, which are termed lyke or late wakes, dramas from the poems 
of Ossian were performed. Throughout Scotland at this day young and 
old collect to sit up with a corpse, but the night is spent in singing 
psalms and taking refreshments. The Irish, on the death of any one, 
take the straw of the bed, and, burning it before the door, set up the 
death howl, as a signal to the neighbors, who, especially in Connaught, 
send beef, ale, bread, Slc. to assist in entertaining the company. The 
Welsh called this wyl nos, lamentation night, and if the parties were 
poor, the visiters took bread, meat, and drink with them. The arvel, 
or arthel dinner, given on the day of interment among this people, is so 
called from a British word, arddelw, to avouch, because the heir and 
others then showed that no violence had been used to the dead. By the 
ancient laws of this people, a corpse was insulted in three ways: — to 
stab it, to expose it, and to ask whose it was, or who thrust a spear in 
it. For the two last a third of the fine was abated, as the actions were 
less disgrace to the dead than the living. 

The anxiety of the Scots of all classes to be respectably buried is 
strong. The reporter in the Statistical Account of Kincardine, in Ross, 
says, that all who can by any means afford it, lay up £2 to insure a de- 
cent funeral. The soldiers of the Black Watch wore silver buttons, that 
in case of death there might be wherewithal to lay them in the ground 
with decency. I have heard an old woman, who was reduced to the 
necessity of living on the benevolence of her neighbors, express the 
strongest dread at the idea of being interred in that part of the church- 
yard appropriated to strangers and the poor. The desire of the Scots 
to rest with the bodies of their ancestors is extreme; and a corpse is 

* Lib. xvi. ID, xvu. 40. 



484 FUNERALS. 

often conveyed a great distance to accomplish this object. It is a feeling 
that cannot be condemned, although attended sometimes with inconve- 
nience; the expense is lessened by the willingness of neighbors to assist 
in carrying the corpse and providing refreshment. In numerous instan- 
ces the churches of the North of Scotland have of late been rebuilt on 
sites considerably distant from their former positions, and the burial 
ground has, consequently, been left in a retired situation. In this there 
may be no impropriety; but it has happened that an heritor, wishing to 
improve his property, has inclosed the old churchyard by shrubberies, 
and stopped the road which formerly enabled the public to approach it; 
and the consequence has been, that parishioners, determined to fulfil 
the wish of their deceased relatives, have, in proceeding to their ancient 
place of sepulture, become trespassers on the laird's grounds, and suffer- 
ed the most vexatious litigations. In General Stewart's " Sketches," 
some remarkable instances of the attachment of the Highlanders to their 
family resting places are given. Dr. Mac Culloch relates an anecdote 
to illustrate the pugnacity of the Highlanders, but from which we might 
draw another inference. A desperate fight took place in a churchyard 
respecting the right of one party to a certain burial place in it. 

At burials, which is the name given by the Scots to funerals, the near- 
est of kin preside at the ceremonial, and etiquette usually obliged even 
the widow to lead the festivities, however painful her loss. Mrs, Murray 
was surprised at an account she heard of a funeral preparation in the 
Isles. The deceased had been a respectable laird, but not very rich, 
yet there were six cooks for a week at the house preparing the feast, to- 
wards which meat, fowls, fish, and game of all sorts, had been sent by 
the friends and relations. A funeral in the olden time was well managed 
if it cost less than £100 Scots. A lady lamenting the inconvenient and 
needless expense, requested her husband, should she die first, to omit 
the custom, but he positively refused to do that which would bring on 
him the obloquy of being not only covetous, but unfeeling, and devoid 
of that affection which he had for her. 

The Highlanders had no feasts nor rejoicings at a birth, but a fune- 
ral was conducted with all the display which the parties could make. 
All the clan, and numerous neighbors, were invited and entertained with 
a profusion of every thing. The male part of the procession was regu- 
larly arranged according to rank, and, instead of laying aside their wea- 
pons, they were all well armed and equipped on such an occasion. The 
statistical account ofthe parish of Tongue, in Sutherland, informs us that 
a funeral procession there was regulated with military exactness by an 
old soldier, a person easily found in these parts. If the coffin is borne 
on a bier, he, every five minutes, or at such time as may be thought 
convenient, draws up the company, rank and file, and gives the word 
" relief;" when four fresh bearers take place of the others. There are 
some particular observances in Highland families, such as that of the 
Campbells of Melfort, Duntroon, and Dunstaffnage, who being de- 



FUNERALS. 485 

scended from a Duke of Aigyle, took the following method of cementing 
their friendship; when the head of either family died, the chief mourn- 
ers were always to be the two other lairds. This was the case on 
occasion of the death of the late Archibald Campbell of Melfort. The 
coffin was usually borne in a sort of litter between two horses, called 
carbad, a term which is -now often applied to the coffin itself. Carbad 
seems to have been originally applied to such vehicles, and, when re- 
stricted to those used for funeral purposes, became synonymous with 
the shell in which the body was deposited. The Gaelic Cobhain, the 
origin of coffin, in its primary sense, meant a box, or any hollow vessel 
of wood. The desire to be interred in the sacred Isle of lona appears 
to be as old as the era of Druidism. The Druidical cemetery is still seen 
separate from the others, and has never been used as a Christian burial 
place. In the poem of Cuthon, as translated by Dr. Smith, it is said 
that Dargo, who is called Mac Drui' Bheil, son of the Druid of Bel, 
was buried in the Green Isle, an epithet given to lona, where his fathers 
rested. In this Isle forty-eight kings of Scotland, four of Ireland, and 
eight of Norway are buried, besides numerous individuals of note. 
There were certain cairns on the lines of road along which funerals 
passed, both in Ireland and Scotland, on which the body was rested; 
and some villages, particularly one at the entrance of Locheil from the 
muir of Lochaber, are called corpach, from the circumstance of the cof- 
fin being laid down there on the halt of the company; corp, in Gaelic, 
being a body. Durand says that the Gauls used black in mourning. 
The HignJanders have, I presume, ever done the same, but, except by 
the wearing of crape, I know not how they evinced the loss of their 
relatives. 

In the minutes of the Society of Antiquaries, July 1725, an account, 
by a Mr. Anderson, appears of a Highland chief's funeral. The nearest 
relations dug the grave, which was marked out by the neighbors; and 
while this was performing, women, who had been hired for the purpose, 
continued to sing, setting forth the genealogy of the deceased, his honor- 
able connexions, and noble exploits. After the last rites had been per- 
formed, 100 black cattle, and 200 or 300 sheep, were killed for the 
entertainment of the company.* The feast must necessarily have been 
great, where nearly the whole clan had attended, besides all neighboring 
gentlemen, for it was not always deemed necessary to make a formal 
invitation, attendance being often given as a mark of respect. In the 
Isle of Man the company is not invited, but all who had known the de- 
ceased voluntarily accompany the funeral; and Waldron says he has 
seen 100 horsemen and 200 on foot in one procession. The dinners or 
entertainments were often in the churchyard; in England they were 
sometimes in the church itself; and in many cases the deceased left 
money to be expended in drinking for the weal of the soul. 

* Brande's Pop. Ant. ii. 151 



486 FUNERALS. 

An account of a curious circumstance that happened at a Highland 
funeral, was thus related in a Scots' publication some years ago, " The 
inhabitants of the village of Glenurchy, in Argyleshire, had, some time 
ago, occasion to attend the funeral of Peter Fletcher, a respectable old 
man, who had attained the age of 102. Auchallander, the place of in- 
terment, is distant from the village about seven miles, and stands on a 
lonely spot on the confines of Glenurchy forest, and singular, as bein^ 
almost exclusively appropriated to persons of the name of Fletcher. 
Having proceeded to the spot, and paid the last duties to all that remain- 
ed of their friend, the nearest connexions of the deceased, according to 
the custom of the Highlanders, brought forth refreshments for the com- 
pany. These were spread out on clean linen, and consisted of ample 
store of bread and cheese, with a due allowance of something stronger 
than water to wash them down. This part of the ceremony having been 
brought to a conclusion, all began to move away in different directions 
towards their homes. The friends of the deceased were the last to quit 
the spot: and before gathering up the remains of the feast, they wander- 
ed a few yards from the place, to bid farewell to their acquaintances. In 
this way the fragments of the bread and cheese were left unprotected. 
What was the astonishment of the company when they beheld three wild 
deer issue from the adjoining forest, and actually commence an attack 
on what remained of the bread and cheese. On no occasion are the 
Highlanders more liable to be impressed with all the superstitions of 
their country, than whilst engaged about their dead. The party at once 
concluded that the singular appearance of the deer betokened that the 
feast of mourning had been prematurely closed. Each anxious to re- 
move the portending evil far from himself, looked eagerly round to see 
if he could read in the countenance of his companions a forerunner of 
the impending disaster. Such prognostications, it may be presumed, 
are sometimes fulfilled by the very feelings they excite. That such was 
the case in the present instance we shall not say, but what followed was 
ill calculated to remove the impressions which had been entertained, 
John Fletcher, brother to the man whom they had just buried, hale and 
active, though ninety-nine years of age, was drowned, a few hours after, 
in the river Urchy, whilst on his way homewards," 

A superstition once strong, still exists, it being believed that the ghost 
of the last buried person is obliged to perform the faire-chloidh, or keep 
watch, in the churchyard until another corpse is brought, whose spirit 
relieves the former, and waits for the next interment. 

The practice of chanting at funerals is very ancient, and was appa- 
rently universal. Macrobius says the heathens sang on such occasions, 
because they believed the souls of the deceased returned to the original 
of musical sweetness, which is heaven. Lamentations and howling at 
the grave were common to the Phoenicians, Greeks, Romans, and Celts; 
but with the latter it did not consist merely of notes of wo — it was an 



CORONACH. 487 

opport-unity for the bards to celebrate the virtues of the deceased, and 
reheai=se his noble descent, thereby improving the occasion by setting 
before others the advantages of a wellspent life. The Goths conducted 
their funerals in the same manner, — Theodoric, Jornandes tells us, was 
buried amid songs of praise. The expression of sorrow by the relations 
was manly and becoming. Of the Germans, it is said, " Wailings they 
soon dismiss, their affliction and wo they long retain. In women it is 
reckoned becoming to deplore their loss — in men to remember it." This 
was the feeling of the Highlanders, who left the duty of mourning to the 
females, thinking it unmanly, whatever they felt, to betray their sorrow 
by shedding tears, or show a want of fortitude by the indulgence of ex- 
cessive grief They were, however, far from not displaying a becoming 
sorrow. "Three days" the Caledonians "mourned above Carthon," 
and for some much respected individuals, annual commemorations were 
appointed. The Gael of more recent times have shown extreme grief at 
the death of some of their chiefs; it is related, even of the rude inhabi- 
tants of St. Kilda, that, on one occasion when they heard of the death of 
Mac Leod, they abandoned their houses and spent two days sorrowing 
in the fields. 

The Celts, who were so partial to music, thought it indispensable on 
occasion of death. The bards always attended at the raising of a tomb, 
besides singing the praises of the dead in the circles; and the poem, or 
rather both it and the music, was called the coronach. Without its due 
performance, the soul was supposed to wander forlorn about its earthly 
remains; but although the practice of repeating it continued so lately, 
if it is indeed entirely exploded among the present Scots, religion form- 
ed no part of the subject. The ancient custom of addressing a dead body 
in broken and extemporary, but forcible verses, is believed to have been 
given up in the Highlands and Isles for more than half a century; but the 
lament is still performed, and the coronach, or expressions of avo, that 
may be so termed, are, in some remote districts, still to be heard at fune- 
rals. The coronach was, for the most part, a voluntary effusion, repeat- 
ed on the way to the churchyard, in which the good deeds of the deceas- 
ed and glories of his ancestry were extolled. At intervals, numerous 
females of the clan, who followed near the coffin, burst into paroxysms 
of grief, tearing their hair, beating their breasts, and making the most 
wotul lamentations. It resembled the cine,* or keen, of the Irish, 
which is still performed in their native land, and may occasionally be 
heard when the body is waked, in London. This wild and melancholy 
dirge has been termed "the howl," and gave rise to the expression 
among the English of " weeping Irish." It is an extempore composi- 
tion, descanting on the virtues and respectability of the deceased. At 
the end of each stanza, a chorus of women and girls swell the notes into 
a loud plaintive cry, which is occasionally used without the song. These 

^ Cina, in Hebrew, is a lamentation. Kuyn, in Welsh, is a complaint. 



488 CORONACH. 

ciners are women, and many officiate professionally. At one of their 
wakes, where I was present, the widow was the leader, and was assist- 
ed by one or two who had been hired. Others, however, occasionally 
took part, and the excessive grief displayed by them as they stood wring- 
ing their hands over the inanimate body, and exhibiting other symptoms 
of bitter sorrow, had an impressive effect. The Irish in remote parts, 
before the last howl, expostulate with the dead body, and reproach it for 
having died, notwithstanding he had a good wife and a milch cow, seve- 
ral tine children, and a competency of potatoes. One of the Gordon 
Highlanders told me, that having, when in Ireland, gone with some 
others to a wake, the widow spoke with displeasure to the body of her 
husband, because he would not take notice of those who had come even 
from Scotland to see him! In the Philosophical Survey of the South 
of Ireland, we find that the elegy which the bards wrote, enumerating 
his riches and other happiness, the burden was always, " Oh! why did 
he die?" 

The vocal lamentations in the Highlands are now almost confined to 
the act of sepulture. The Statistical Account of Avoch in Ross-shire, 
says, " the lamentations of the women, in some cases, on seeing a belov- 
ed relation put in the grave, would almost pierce a heart of stone." 

The practice of singing at a funeral was retained by the Christians, 
who substituted their psalms and hymns for the Celtic laments, and it 
was usual on some occasions to employ a whole choir, who preceded 
the corpso. Waldron says the Manx funerals are met about a quarter 
of s. mile from the church by the clergyman, who walks before, singing 
a psalm, and in every churchyard is a cross, round which the company 
pass three times. The Welsh played the Owdle barnat before a corpse 
on its way to the churchyard. 

The singing of the coronach appears to have given place to the play- 
ing of the bagpipes among the Highlanders, but it would seem that both 
were used for some time. The bagpipes were more suitable to the mil- 
itary character of the people, and well adapted to produce those wailing 
notes, according with the solemnity of the occasion, and adding so much 
to the effect of the scene. The Cumhadh, or lament, as already shown, 
is a family tune of a most plaintive character, and often very ancient, 
and its performance is in sympathy with the emotions of the company. 
General Stewart says that the funeral of Rob Roy was the last in Perth- 
shire at which a piper was employed. In Lochaber and some other 
parts, these musicians, I believe, are occasionally engaged; in the High- 
lands of Aberdeenshire, the most inland district in Scotland, I can assert 
that the employment of pipers is by no means uncommon. I, of course, 
speak of the continuance of the ancient practice, not of its revival by 
the influence of individuals or societies. The funeral of the late Sir 
Eneas Mac Intosh, of Mac Intosh, who died at a patriarchal age, was 



BURIAL PLACES. 409 

attended by six bagpipers, who preceded the body, which was followed 
by a numerous cavalcade, playing the affecting lament of the clan. 

The Scots gentry have usually family burial places on their own lands, 
and often in the vicinity of the mansion. That of the Laird of Mac 
Nab, near Killin, in Braidalban, is, like most others, imbosomed in 
wood, and in a situation from its seclusion and natural gloom, in fine ac- 
cordance with the melancholy scene — the conclusion of life's eventful 
drama. 

62 



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CHAPTER XV. 

OF THE KNOWLEDGE OF LETTERS AMONG THE CELTS. 

That the Celts, at least the Druids, were acquainted with the use ol 
'etters is certain. The roll found in the camp of the Helvetii, contain- 
ing the numbers of men, women, and children who composed the expe 
dition, is a sufficient proof that they could write, were we possessed of 
no other. The principles and practice of the Druidical priesthood were 
adverse to literature as the medium of instruction, and they did not trust 
their mysteries to writing; but is it to be inferred that so learned a body 
were ignorant of this most useful art? The signs or hieroglyphics which 
priests and philosophers of all ancient nations used, were of themselves 



KNOWLEDGE OF LETTERS. 491 

a sort of language, and must have led to the formation of a regular sys- 
tem, by which a mutual communication was established. The Celts, 
however, had the use of letters at a very early period; the Turdetani, a 
people of Spain, according to Strabo, declared that they could produce 
not only traditional poems, but written documents of 6000 years' an- 
tiquity. 

Lhuyd asserts that the Britons had letters long before the time of Tac- 
itus, which they imparted to the Irish; and Leland, Pits, and Bale, give 
accounts of many learned men who flourished and wrote about the era 
of redemption and even before; but the early use of writing does not al- 
together rest on the biographies of the above authors, whose authority, 
I am aware, is often doubtful. The Leccan records of Irish history say, 
that Saint Patrick burnt no less than one hundred and eighty Druidical 
tracts, and a uniform tradition has been preserved among the bards, that 
Colan, or Columba, on his establishment in lona, burnt a heap of books 
written by the Britons.* Their historians affirm that a large colony, 
who had taken refuge in Britany on the Saxon invasion, carried with 
them the archives that had escaped the ravages of those illiterate rovers, 
which circumstance Gildas, who wrote in the sixth century, alludes to 
with regret. 

That national annals and other records did exist is undeniable. Nea- 
nius, writing in the middle of the ninth century, says he compiled his 
work, among other documents, from the writings of the Scots and En- 
glish, which, however, had in frequent wars suffered great mutilation. 
Gaimar, a Frenchman, who wrote on the Saxon kings, refers to a work 
on British history now lost;! but, in the prefatory chapter, the use of 
letters and cultivation of literature by the ancient Celtic inhabitants of 
these islands, has been satisfactorily shown. 

The Helvetian Roll is said to have been written in Greek characters, 
from which it would appear that the Celts understood that languao'e. 
The same authority, J however, informs us, that on one occasion he en- 
gaged a Gallic horseman by promise of great rewards, to convey a let- 
ter to Cicero, which letter was written in Greek, lest, if it fell into the 
hands of the enemy, it might be intelligible, which is so directly in point, 
that there is no getting over it.§ We can only suppose that the char- 
acters resembled those used by the Grecians, for that the Gauls did not 
know Greek, and but few of them Latin, is very certain. Divitiac, the 
^duan, for whom Caesar had a particular friendship, could not converse 
with him, but by the assistance of an interpreter. Those Gauls who liv- 
ed near Massilia learned the Greek letters from that colony, but this is 

* Davies' Celtic Researches. Conla, a Brehon, or Judge, of Connaught, is said to 
have written a book against the Druids. 

+ Ellis's Specimens of Metrical Romances, i. X Cassar. 

§ lb. et Dio. Yet Greek inscriptions were reported to exist in Germany, (Tacitus,) 
and even in Britain. 



492 OGHAM CHARACTERS. 

a particular case.* Few, or perhaps no remains, it is to be observed, 
of the Celtic language, either on monuments or elsewhere, remain to 
prove what characters they did use. Origen, in his answer to Celsus, 
said it was uncertain whether any writings of either Gauls or Getes 
then existed. 

Lucian gives the following curious account of the Gallic Hercules: — 
The Gauls, in their language, call him Ogmius, and they represent him 
as a decrepit old man, bald, with a beard extremely gray, and a wrin- 
kled, sunburnt, swarthy skin. But what is most strange is, that he 
draws after him a multitude of men all tied by the ears, the cords by 
which he does this being five chains, artificially made of gold and elec- 
trum, like most beautiful bracelets; and though the men are drawn by 
such slender bonds, yet none of them think of breaking loose, but cheer- 
fully follow. The right hand being occupied with a club, and the left 
with a bow, the painter has fixed the chains in a hole in the tip of the 
God's tongue, who turns about smiling on those he leads, I looked 
upon these things a great while, but a certain Gaul who stood by, and 
who, I believe, was one of the philosophers (Druids) speaking Greek in 
perfection, said, " I will explain to you, O stranger, the enigma of this 
picture. We, Gauls, do not suppose, as you Greeks, that Mercury is 
speech, or eloquence, but we attribute it to Hercules, because he is so 
far superior in strength. Do not wonder that he is represented as an 
old man, for speech alone loves to show its vigor in old age, if your own 
poets speak true; and, finally, as for us, we are of opinion that Her- 
cules accomplished all his achievements by speech; and that, having 
been a wise man, he conquered mostly by persuasion. We think his 
arrows were keen reasons, penetrating the souls of men, whence, 
among yourselves, is the expression 'winged words.'" Thus spoke 
the Gaul. 

Ogmius is here a Celtic word, pronounced and spelled by a Roman, yet 
it is sufficiently pure to show its relationship with ogham, or ogum, the 
name of tlpt secret alphabet which was used by the Druids and learned 
Celts. The Ogham characters were represented by twigs of various 
trees, and the figures resembled those called Runic. The Ogham bob- 
eleth, and Ogham craobh letters, are well known to the student of Irish 
history. In the sister island, as well as in Britain, inscriptions on stones 
have been discovered in these characters, which Vallancey was able to 
decipher, particularly on one monument, which he says is mentioned in 
Scotish Chronicles, as in " the grove of Aongus." It informs us that 
there was the sepulchre of that hero. It is not unreasonable to suppose 
that different characters were adopted, the knowledge of which it may- 
have been intended to confine to certain classes. There is a stone at a 
place called the Vicar's Cairn, in Armagh, on which are certain char- 
acters, consisting of perpendicular lines of unequal length, that do not 

* Strabo, iv. p. 181. 



ALPHABETS. 493 

appear to be ogham letters. In the isle of Arran, one of the Hebrides, 
are several caves, well lighted, which contain places apparently for cook- 
ing, &c. and that have rude lines cut in the wall. In different parts of 
Scotland, and particularly in a certain part of Galloway, are found num- 
bers of stones, many of inconsiderable size, which are marked with vari- 
ous figures. Specimens of these stones have been submitted to the 
Society of Antiquaries, but their import, I believe, has never been dis- 
covered. A remarkable inscription is seen on a stone at Newton, in 
Aberdeenshire, which is represented in this work. p. 62. The characters 
here used are more conformable to the Gaelic than to the ogham, but 
they are so rude, and apparently so ancient, that it is impossible to de- 
cipher the inscription, or assign it a recent date. Vallancey procured a 
drawing of this obelisK, and conjectured that the two first words are 
Gylf Gommara, Prince Gommara, but this appears to be mere conjec- 
ture. The author, through a respected friend, transmitted a drawing to 
the Society of Antiquaries at Paris, by some of whose learned members 
the inscription may be elucidated. The stone is beside another of near- 
ly similar size, on which are represented a serpent, circles, and those 
other figures, which will be presently described, and hence it appears 
referable to a remote and unknown era. The inscription is unique,* 
and the characters are different from those of the Tree system. Con- 
cerning this system we have, indeed, but dark and mysterious intima- 
tions, yet sufficiently plain to enable us, I trust, to explain the origin of 
certain figures introduced in the sculpture of distant ages, and preserved 
in the ornaments of later times. 

The Gaelic alphabet consists of eighteen letters, as here shown: 



A. 


Ailra, the elm tree.t 


B. 


Beilhe, the birch. 


C. 


Coll, the hazel. 


D. 


Diiir, the oak. 


E. 


Eadha, the aspen. 


F. 


Fearna, the alder. 


G. 


Gort, the ivy. 


H. 


Uath, the white thorn. t 


I. 


lodha, the yew. 



L. 


Luis, the quicken. 


M. 


Muin, the vine.§ 


N. 


Nuin, the ash. 


0. 


Oir, the broom. 


P. 


Peit or pethbhog, dwarf elder. 


R. 


Ruis, the elder. 


S. 


Suil, the willow. 


T. 


Teine, the furze. 


U. 


Uir, the heath. 



These letters are chiefly according to the Irish pronunciation and ac- 
ceptation. We here see that they are all named after trees, but some 

* AtFordun, in the county of Kincardine, a stone was discovered under the pulpit 
of the church, inscribed with characters somewhat resembling the above. — Trans, of 
Scots' Antiquaries, ii. pi. 5. Among other sculptures, on the stones of a corridor at 
Morbihan, in Britany, are some unknown letters. 

t Vallancey calls it the palm ; O'Flaherty, the fir. 

t Dr. Molloy does not admit this letter into the original alphabet, and shows that its 
introduction was sufficient to alter the dialect. Instead of H, a T was used, as in tul- 
loch, a hillock, talla, a hall. § Originally the blackberry bush 

II Sometimes called B sofl, or rather Beith-beag, little b 



494 ORNAMENTAL TRACERY. 

of the appellations are now obsolete, as the last, which is consequently 
thought to be the iuthar, or yew. Had the Celts derived their alphabet 
from the Romans, or from any other people, the names would certainly 
have been the same, and the same order would have been preserved, 
which is not the case in the Irish Beth-luisnium alphabet, which, it may 
be observed, is presumed to be according to the ancient and proper ar- 
rangement, and is so termed from its three first letters. It stands thus 
— B, L, N, F, S, H, D, T, C, M, G, P, R, A, O, U, E, I. 

The word aos in Irish, which at first signified a tree, was applied to a 
learned person; and feadha, woods, or trees, became the term applied to 
prophets or wise men, undoubtedly from their knowledge of the alpha- 
bet, or sylvan characters, which were used.* 

The " Researches" of Mr. Davies have thrown much light on Celtic 
Antiquities, and in his pages will be found several passages from bardic 
compositions, which elucidate the tree system of learning. It is well 
known that various trees and shrubs have been symbolical, or used as 
tokens, but the learning of the sprigs consisted in arranging, tying, and 
intertwining them in various ways, thereby altering their expression or 
import. There is a work which Mr. Davies quotes, in which the author 
says "he loves the sprigs with their woven tops, tied with a hundred 
knots, after the manner of the Celts, which the artists employed about 
their mystery." Small branches of different trees were fastened togeth- 
er, and being " placed in the tablet of devices, they were read by sages 
who were versed in science." The art of tying the sprigs in numerous 
and intricate knots was an important part of the mystical studies of the 
druidical order, and appears to have been known by few. Talliesin, 
who gloried in belonging to the profession, boasts of this part of his 
knowledge; his acquaintance with every sprig, and the meaning of the 
trees, he calls " understanding his institute." We thus see that the 
Celts had a method of conveying their knowledge to the initiated by a 
sort of hieroglyphic, or symbolical characters, produced by twigs, or 
branches of various trees, and the characters which afterwards formed 
an alphabet, represented those branches and retained the names of dif- 
ferent trees. I shall now draw the reader's attention to the represen- 
tations in ancient sculpture of these intricate, but, at one time, sig- 
nificant combinations and interlacings, from whence, I conceive, is to 
be deduced a style of ornament that was long retained, not only by 
the Gael, but by others, without knowing to what origin it was to be 
referred. 

The curious obelisk represented at the beginning of this Chapter is 
situated in the churchyard of Dyce, a parish in the county of Aber- 
deen. Its position, near a churchyard, will indicate that the Christian 
edifice has been planted on a spot previously respected, the appearance 
of the cross being no certain proof of a Christian origin, inasmuch as it 

* The Hebrew az, or es, has precisely the same acceptations. 



ITS MEANING 495 

is known to have been a pagan symbol, introduced even on sepulchral 
monuments.* 

The cross appears formed of, or filled with, a tracery produced by the 
interlacing of twigs, and this sort of work is common to all such stones, 
and appears also, but with more taste, in the monuments known to be 
Christian, and denominated, with propriety, stone crosses. This orna- 
ment has been, by some writers, considered an imitation of the Roman 
fret-work, to which it certainly bears little resemblance. The late Pro- 
fessor Stuart, of Marischal College, Aberdeen, speaking of the singular 
sculpture on these stones, properly observes that the figures " were not 
employed merely as ornaments, but to express some latent meaning, at 
that time, probably, well known, though, in the lapse of ages, now total- 
ly lost and forgotten. "| The bards understood the meaning of these 
figures, as, we learn from their poetical remains, where repeated allu- 
sion is made to the " knowledge of the trees," although the secrecy with 
which their mysteries were preserved, has left us in ignorance of the 
science. 

Talliesin, in his enthusiasm for a profession, then subjected to ridicule 
and persecution, in figurative language exclaims, "I know the intent 
of the trees, I know which was decreed praise or disgrace, by the inten- 
tion of the memorial trees of the sages, "J and celebrates " the engage- 
ment of the sprigs of the trees, or of devices, and their battle with the 
learned." He could " delineate the elementary trees and reeds," and 
tells us when the sprigs " were marked in the small tablet of devices 
they uttered their voice." He does not, however, divulge the secret of 
their meaning, but speaks of " the Alders at the end of the line begin- 
ning the arrangement." Trees are to this day used symbolically by the 
Welsh and Gael, as, for instance, coll, the hazel wood, being indicative 
of loss and misfortune, is presented to a forsaken lover, &.c. whence ap- 
pears to have arisen the saying that " painful is the smoke of the hazel. "§ 
Merddyn, or Merlin, the Caledonian, not less devoted to his religion than 
the Cambrian bard, laments that " the authority of the sprigs" was be- 
ginning to be disregarded. The powers of this vegetable alphabet, or 
symbolic system, were fated to yield to those of a different character. 
This race, in disusing the trees, as the secret means of preserving a 
medium of communicating knowledge, left the ancient system, with as 
little elucidation as the hieroglyphics of Egypt, and preserved the recol- 
lection of its former existence by little more than the names which they 
gave to the letters. The stones of Gwiddon Ganhebon, on which the 
arts and sciences of the world were to be read, are mentioned in the Tri- 
ads, and are supposed to have been inscribed in the ogham character, 

* Keysler, «fcc. A large cross is formed on the face of a hill, in Buckinghamshire, 
by removing the soil from the chalk, in the same manner as the white horses of Wilts 
nd Berks are represented. t Trans, of Scots' Ant. ii 

t Welsh Archaeo. i. 34. § Owen's Welsh Diet. 



496 TRACERY AND OTHER ORNAMENTS. 

and Gwydion ap Don, an astronomer, was buried is Caernarvon under 
a stone of enigmas. Whatever these sculptures may have been, it is sin- 
gular that in Wales no stones are found similar to those that are to be 
seen in so many parts of Scotland, on which are various figures, like 
those on the stone at Dyce, as well as some other singular devices else- 
where introduced. In the Principality, we, however, do find some 
monuments on which is seen the intricate fret-work which I have every 
reason to believe, if not the actual resemblance of some of the mysterious 
knots of sprigs, is derived from that singular practice. The interlacing 
of the rods in the cross had certainly some meaning. The same orna- 
ment is often seen by itself, and seems to have been retained when all 
knowledge of its signification had been lost. Let the reader compare 
this tracery with that on the handle of the bidag, page 216, with 
the ornaments on the leathern target, on the brooch, and indeed with 
every thing susceptible of embellishment by the old Highlanders; and it 
will be impossible from such a similarity, not to perceive that their taste 
was at first influenced by some cause. I not only think that their pecu- 
liar style of ornament is to be deduced from the art of twisting the sprigs 
into significant forms, but that, as the Celts, who were certainly the 
most learned people, after the establishment of Christianity, gave to the 
letters of their alphabet the names of the trees, they retained a vestige of 
their intricate combination by their ancestors, in the fanciful capitals, 
which illuminators of manuscripts never failed to introduce. A speci- 
men of these from a manuscript version of the poems of Ossian, written 
in the eighth century, and now in possession of the Highland Society, is 
introduced at the termination of this Chapter; but it must be observed 
that it bears less resemblance to the Celtic tracery than may be seen in 
many other examples. The tree system in this particular seems to have 
influenced the writers of all European countries. 

The crescent was sacred to Ceredwen, the Welsh Ceres,. who hence 
appears to have been metaphorically called " the lady of the white bow." 
This figure was also the symbol of the moon. The reason of its being 
surmounted by the two implements resembling arrows, or javelins, as 
shown on the stone, cannot be guessed at, except we believe they were 
also sprigs. The zig-zag figure is evidently the same article under a 
different form; and both these are frequent on such obelisks, as well as 
the figure on which they are placed, the purport of which is equally un- 
known. The small object appears to be part of the latter, and is also 
often introduced. Sometimes, indeed, it consists of a greater and les- 
ser circle, or globe, attached to each other, in which case it precisely 
resembles an article which a figure, supposed to be a Druid, on a Gal- 
lic monument, carries in his hand.* There are occasionally some other 
figures seen on these obelisks, but one of the most usual and most re- 
markable is here shown. 

* Montfaucon, iii. pi. 51. 



MONUMENTAL STONES. 497 




This is, bv Pennant, supposed to represent the musimon, an animal 
now extinct, and other writers have indulged their various conjectures 
as to what it is intended for. The Ceres of the Britons was represented 
under the figure of " a proud, crested mare," and also as "a crested 
hen," in which form it appears on coins, brooches, &c. If the reader 
will turn to p. 369, this favorite symbol of the Britons will be seen on 
one of their coins, and it will be remarked that the legs have a very sin- 
gular termination, both there and in the figure above shown. This god- 
dess was regarded, as it were, in an amphibious character, and, per- 
haps, the state of the arts, or certain rules, did not permit a nearer 
representation of this mystical character. Some Eastern relics have a 
resemblance to this figure in the circular formation, or ornament of the 
legs; and even in St. Nicholas's Church, Ipswich, is a figure of an ani- 
mal, the upper parts of the haunches of which are finished in spirals. 
The white bull was much venerated, and where we can only conjecture, 
it is worth observation, that the moon was called bull-horned, in the 
Orphic hymns, from its crescent form, and the ancient priests of Ceres 
termed this planet a bull.* One of the Celtic fragments at Notre Dame, 
Paris, represents a beast like a bull in a wood, in which are also birds. 
This very much resembles some of the sculptured stones in Scotland that 
may have had allusion to hunting, concerning which many curious bar- 
dic traditions exist. It has been observed in a criticism on a slight es- 
say of mine, published by the Society of Antiquaries of London, that 
such figures are indicative " of the acts, habits, or character of the per- 
son commemorated." This I will readily admit, but the explanation of 
the symbols from Olaus Wormius, I conceive, does not apply here. 
The wolf is an apt hieroglyphic of tyranny, and the lamb of gentleness 
and innocence, Stc, but how will the above singular figures be explain- 
ed ? The intimations of the bards, dark enough I allow, aflx)rd us the 
only light by which we can venture to attempt any solution of the mys- 
tery, and as they appear in some cases tolerably satisfactory, there may 
still be an agreement, for it is probable that if sepulchral, th« tracery, 
rods, and other insignia, point out the grave of one initiated in the mys- 
terious tree system learning of the Celtic priesthood. 

That stones were erected to mark the burial places of celebrated men 
is not to be disputed, and instances have already been noticed. It was 



* Note on Pausanias, from Porphyry. 
63 



498 GAELIC LITERATURE. 

an ancient practice, and yet survives in the churchyard tombstones. A 
circular column, six feet high, but supposed when entire to have been 
twelve, at Llangollen, in Wales, was raised in memory of Conceun, 
who was defeated at the battle of Chester in 607, as Lluyd found by an 
inscription. Stones were also placed in commemoration of remarkable 
events, even to late ages. A rude pillar indicates the place where the 
battle of Pentland was fought; and a great block, raised by the High- 
landers, marks the spot where the brave Viscount Dundee fell in the 
conflict at Renruari. 

The ceremony observed in raising a stone of memorial is thus describ- 
ed in the poem of Colna-dona. " Beneath the voice of the king we 

moved to Crona three bards attend with songs. Three bossy 

shields were borne before us: for we were to rear the stone in memory 
of the past. By Crona's mossy course Fingal had scattered his foes 

I took a stone from the stream amid the song of bards. . . . 

beneath I placed at intervals, three bosses from the shields of foes, as 
rose or fell the sound of Ullin's nightly song. Toscar laid a dagger in 
the earth, a mail of sounding steel. We raised the mould around the 
stone, and bade it speak to other years." 

To conclude: the race, especially in the British Isles, were remarka- 
ble for their learning, and, to use the words of a popular writer, for " the 
cultivation of letters, that power of imagination which seems in them a 
trace of their Celtic origin."* A most remarkable fact in the history of 
the Scots is, that from being the most learned people in Europe, they 
became less noted for their literary acquirements than the other Celtic 
nations. Yet that they did not entirely neglect literature, is evident 
from the manuscripts which still remain, and those which we find for- 
merly existed. 

There are at present upwards of three millions of people in the British 
Isles who speak Celtic, viz. about two millions in Ireland, about 400,000 
in Scotland, and about 700,000 in Wales. This latter country began 
very early to pay considerable attention to the printing of books in the 
native language, and by a catalogue in 1710, there appears to have been 
ihen upwards of seventy. Almanacks, magazines, dictionaries, gram- 
mars, religious books, and even several scientific works, have been pub- 
lished, and the number is supposed now to exceed 10,000. The first 
Welsh bible, a black letter folio, was printed in 1568, the first in Ireland, 
I believe, was in 1609. Bishop Kerswell's Liturgy, 1566, appears to 
have been the first book printed in Gaelic; the bible and many other 
books, among which is not to be forgotten the poems of Ossian, from the 
original manuscripts, by the Highland Society, have been since publish- 
ed, yet education and literature were certainly less attended to by the 
Highlanders than their characteristic thirst of knowledge might have 

* Thiery's Norman Conquest. 



LANGUAGE AiND LITERATURE. 499 

led us to expect; but the cause is to be found in the unsettled state of 
society. Wales is nearly four times richer than Scotland, and supports 
seven or eight periodicals, while Scotland has only recently established 
one, the Teachdaire Gaelach, or Highland Messenger, which, however, 
appears to meet with suitable encouragement. 

The want of a Gaelic dictionary was long felt in Scotland, but that of 
Mr. Armstrong, published in 1825, was hailed with satisfaction; and 
the labors of the gentlemen employed by the Highland Society have 
more recently appeared in the " Dictionarium Scoto Celticum," in two 
large volumes 4to., which will now preserve this pure and valuable dia- 
lect of a language once universal in Europe. It will also fix the orthog- 
raphy, which was previously so unsettled. The singularity of this, in 
many instances, the reader must have remarked, and it has not escaped 
the notice of the learned, who have suggested means of simplifying the 
spelling, by getting rid of numerous consonants which are retained with- 
out being at all sounded. The Celtic Society of Glasgow have this year 
offered four prizes for the best essays on the subject, but their exertions 
have come too late, it is to be feared, to produce any effect. The appa- 
rently useless consonants are retained to show the root, or primitive of 
a word, and thereby prevent confusion. 

The Celtic language has been several times the object of legislative 
severity. In Ireland severe enactments were passed against it, as was 
the case in Wales, about 1700. Even so late as 1769, a plan was en- 
tertained by the bishops to extinguish Cumraeg, by having the church 
service performed in the English only; a circumstance that but too often 
occurs, it is to be feared, without such a design. In Scotland, I have 
often heard it complained, that clergymen were put into a living who 
were quite unable to preach to the people in their vernacular tongue. 
It was attempted to root out the Gaelic, but as might be expected, the 
design was impracticable. I do not know if the French ever thought of 
abolishing the Breton language, which, by Lagonidec, is said to be still 
spoken by upwards of four millions of people; — a trial would have shown 
that no measures could accomplish this. The case of the Wends, whose 
language it was attempted to repress, shows the impracticability of for- 
cibly changing the mother tongue of any people. In 1765, it was thought 
expedient to eradicate the Bohemian language, and the design was long 
prosecuted, before the impossibility of accomplishing the object was 
discovered. 

The nobility and gentry of Ireland continued to speak their native 
tongue until the reign of Elizabeth, or James the First. The Highland- 
ers relinquished the practice of writing in Gaelic, before they had ac- 
quired any taste for conversation in English. Rory Mor, chief of the 
Mac Leeds, is said to have been the last of the Gael who continued to 
write in the language of his fathers. 



oOO 



LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE 



Notwithstanding the important assistance which, in acquiring other 
anguages, would be derived from a knowledge of this primitive tongue 
«|ere is not a Celtic Professorship in any seminary of learning in the 




APPENDIX. 



TABLE OF CLAN TARTANS. 

The list here given is an Appendix to what has been said of Tartans 
m the Sixth Chapter of this work, and contains as many specimens as I 
could procure and authenticate. I have noticed some variations in the 
patterns worn by different families of the same name, but I have not in- 
serted any fancy tartan. The plan which is adopted in the following 
table, in perfecting which I had the valuable assistance of Captain Mac 
Kenzie of Gruinard, is sufficiently simple, as will be seen by the accom- 
panying plate, which exhibits a square of plaid in its full size. Should 
any one desire to supply himself with this pattern, for instance, by copy- 
ing the scale, and applying it to the web, the object will be accomplish- 
ed. In like manner these descriptions are a guide to manufacturers, who 
will now, it is hoped, produce the true patterns. 

A web of tartan is two feet two inches wide, at least within half an 
inch, more or less, so that the size of the patterns make no difference in 
the scale. Commencing at the edge of the cloth, the depth of the colors 
is stated throughout a square, on which the scale must be reversed or 
gone through again to the commencement. There is, it may be observ- 
ed, a particular color in some patterns which can scarcely admit of de- 
scription, but which is known to the Highlanders, as, for example, the 
green of the Mac Kay tartan is light. The plaid which the clergy wore 
is popularly believed to have been used by the Druids and Culdees. 
The Highland ministers, it has been shown, went armed and generally 
dressed in the national costume, Martin describes a lay Capuchin, 
whom he met in Benbecula, clad in the breacan, and several within the 
memory of man contmued to preach in their native garb. 



502 



APPENDIX. 



'inlh!" Colors. 


Inlh^-^ Colors. 


i of ar 
inch. 


Colors. 


i of an n^lora 

inch. Colors 


Abercrombie. 


1 blue 


2i 


red 


2 


red 


3| 


green 


1 black 


2 


blue 


13 


green 




white 


1 blue 


1 


white 


2 


red 


green 


8 black 


2 


blue 


h 


blue 


3^ 


black 


8 green 


11 


red 


k 


white 


1 


blue 


1 black 


2 


blue 


2 


red 


1 


black 


2 white 


1 


white 


3 


blue 


1 


blue 


1 black 


2 


blue 


2 


red 


1 


black 


8 green 


2i- 

•*2 


red 


1 

4 


white 


3i 


blue 


8 black 


8 


green 


i 


blue 






8 blue 
1 black 
1 blue 
1 black 
8 blue 


2i 
1 


red 
blue 


13 
1 

11 

H 


red 
green 
crimson 
green 


Buchanan. 
1 „„,,„^ 


2 

8 

1 


green 
black 


CoLQUHON. 


2 
1 


1_ 


blue 






azure 


8 black 


1 


black 


Douglas. 


1 


black 


8 green 


6 


blue 


i ' 


white 


2 


yellow 


1 black 


9 


black 


4 


blue 


\ 


black 


2 yellow 


14 


white 


4 


green 


2 
1 


yellow 
black 


1 black 
8 green 


7 
1 


green 
red 


1 
1 


azure 
black 


1 


azure 


8 black 


7 


green 
white 


1 


azure 


i 


black 


1 blue 


1 


4 


green 


8 


red 


1 black 


2 

9 


black 


4 


blue 


1 


white 


1 blue 

1 black 

4 blue 
This is worn by 
the Duke of Ar- 
gyle and the 


6 


blue 


J 


white 


Cameron. 


1 
1 


black 
blue 


Drummond. 
J white 


2 
4 

8 

8 


blue 
red 


C 


UMMIN. 


1 


azure 
blue 


blue 
red 


Campbells of Lo- 
chaw. The Ear' 


1 
1 


azure 
black 


4 
8 


red 
green 


black 


of Braidalban and 


o 


azure 


h 


yellow 


8 


green 
red 
green 
red 


his clan, wear the 


5 


black 


H 


blue 


'1 

1 


following pattern. 
2 blue 
1 black 


1 

2 

5 

2 


orange 

green 

red 


1 

2 

17 


white 

red 

white 


2 

4 


green 
red 


1 blue 


\ 


white 


1-1 


blue 


1 


1 black 


2 


red 


1 

2 


yellow 


2 
1 


green 
red 


1 blue 


1 

2 


white 


8 


green 


2 

u 


7 black 


2 


red 


4 


ed 


2 

8 


green 


\ yellow 


5 


green 


H 


blue 


8 


black 


11 green 
\ yellow 
7 black 
6 blue 


\ 


orange 


1 


azure 


^ 


red 

blue 

red 


5 

2 

1 


black 
azure 
black 


h 


white 


8 

u 


Farquharson. 


^ 2 

4 


blue 
yellow 


1 black 
1 blue 


2 


azure 


2 


red 

blue 

black 


1 


Dalzel. 
6 red 


Campbell. 


Chisholm. 


blue 


4 


blue 


2i red 
8 green 


k 


white 


1 


black 


1 


black 


h 


blue 


h 


blue 



TABLE OF CLAN TARTANS. 



503 



*ifr C"'- 


^nch." colors. 


i of an ^ , 
'inch. Colors. 


i of an r'^i^., 
inch. Colors. 


4 black 


6i 


red 


I 


blue 


15 


black 


4 green 


1 


green 


18 


red 


4 


white 


1 yellow 


6| 


red 


1 

4 


azure 


15 


green 


4 green 


5 


green 


1 

2 


red 


2 


red 


4 black 


i 


red 


5 


blue 


4 


yellow 


4 blue 


i 


blue 


1 


red 


3 

4 


red 


1 black 


h 


red 


h 


green 


2 


green 


1 red 


5 


blue 


1 
21 

h 
1 


red 


161 
o 


red 
black 
yellow 
red 


Ferguson. 
1 green 


Gordon. 
1 blue 


green 

red 

blue 


1 
1 


6 blue 


1 


black 


2 

2-1- 


red 


3 


black 


1 red 


^ 


blue 


2 
1 


blue 
red 






2 '*'" 
6 black 


6 


black 


2 


Lamont. 


6 green 


6 


green 


21^ 


green 


21 

4 


blue 


1 black 


1 


yellow 


1 


red 


H 


black 


6 green 
6 black 


6 
6 


green 
black 


1 

1 


green 
red 


u 


blue 
black 


2 red 
6 blue 


1 
1 


blue 
black 


5 

1 


blue 
red 


6 


blue 
black 


1 green 


1 
1 
6 


blue 

black 

blue 


2 
i 

18 


azure 
red 


6 


green 


Forbes. 


white 


1 blue 


1 


black 


.1 

2 
1 


blue 
red 


6 
6 


green 
black 


1 black 


1 


blue 


2 
1 


blue 


6 


blue 


6 blue 
6 black 


1 
1 
6 


black 

blue 

black 


4 


red 




black 
blue 


6 green 




GuNN. 


black 


1 black 
1 white 
1 black 
6 green 
6 black 


6 
1 
6 
6 
5i 


green 

yellow 

green 

black 

blue 


1 

2 

7 

7 


green 
blue 
green 
black 


2 

6 
6 
6 


blue 
black 
green 
white 


6 blue 
1 black 


1 
1 


black 
blue 


7 
1 


green 
red 


6 
6 

1| 


green 
black 
blue 


1 blue 






7 
7 


green 
black 
green 


Graham. 

1 hlar.k 


black 


Fraser. 


blue 


^ blue 


2 

6 


smalt 


7^ 


blue 


H 


black 


h red 


6 

h 

1 


black 
green 
azure 


1 


green 


41 


blue 


1 blue 

h red 

5 green 

6| red 

1 green 




Hay.* 


Logan. 


8 
1 


green 
azure 


1 


black 
red 




red 
blue 


1 


green 
black 


1 


yellow 


1 


red 


6|- red 


2 

6 


2 


black 


.3 

5 


blue 


5 green 


6 


smalt 


161 


red 


1 


red 


5 blue 


1 


black 


2 


purple 


7 


blue 


h red 
^ blue 






3. 


red 


5J 

7 


black 


( 


GrRANT. 


4 


yellow 


green 


h red 


1 


red 


2 


red 


1 


red 


2 

5 blue 


J 


blue 


15 


purple 


i 


black 


5 green 


i 


red 




red 


1 


yellow 



• This rich tartan is claimed by the Leiths. 



604 






APPENDIX. 








iof ar 
inch. 


Colors. 


i of an 
inch. 


Colors. 


i of an 
inch. 


Colors. 


iof an 
inch. 


Colors. 


A 


black 


i 


red 


O 


crimson 


6 


purple 


1 


red 


n 


blue 


18 


red 


1 


green 


2 


green 
black 






1 

2 


blue 


1 


white 


7 






7 


Mac Aulay. | 


1 


red 


11 


red 


blue 


h 


black 


6 


green 


h 


black 


3 


red 


9 


red 


6 


red 


H 


red 




blue 


H 


green 


6 


green 


1 


white 


if 


red 


H 


red 


3 


crimson 


6 


green 


blue 


5 


green 


1 


red 


1 

2 


black 


H 


red 


h 


white 


3 


crimson 


21 


red 






5 


green 


6 


blue 












Mac Alastair. | 


H 


red 


2 


red 


Mac 


GiLLIVRAY. 


4 


red 


5 


green 


1 


green 


A 


blue 


i 


light green 


h 


white 


2 


red 


2 


red 


3 


dark green 


5 


green 


18 


green 


1 


azure 


1 


red 


n 


red 


1 


red 


2 


red 


1 


azure 


H 


green 

red 

black 


1 


crimson 


9 


green 


1 

h 
1 


red 

white 

red 


9 

1 


Mac Duf.:, 

4 red 


1 

7 


red 
blue 






1 


red 


1 


azure 


Mac Donald.* 


3 


azure 


2 
1 


azure 


1 


red 


2| 


green 


4 


black 


2 

18 


red 


3 


dark green 


1 

2 


red 


6i 


green 


k 

2 


blue 


h 


red 


1 


green 


Sh 


red 


azure 


h 


white 


ij 


red 


r 


black 


red 


6 


red 


8 


green 


3| 


red 


1 


azure 


h 


azure 


8 


black 


1 


black 


k 
18 


blue 


i 


red 


1 


red 


n 


red 


red 


11 


dark green 


8 


blue 


6| 


green 


1 


azure 


1 

2 


red 


H 


red 


4 


black 


2 


red 


1 
2 


azure 


3 

4 


blue 


3 


azure 


7 


blue 


16 


red 


i 


red 


8 


red 


1 


red 


i 
i 


azure 
red 


5 


blue 
red 


Mac 


Farlane. 


9 

2 


green 
red 


U 


dark green 


3 
4 


blue 


lOi 


red 


k 
2 


azure 


i 


red 


l| 


red 


h 


black 


red 


1 


azure 


8 


blue 


6 


green 


i 


blue 


5i 


red 
white 


1 
8 


red 
black 


1 


white 
red 


2 




2 


Mac Gregor. 


4 

4 


red 
blue 


8 


green 
red 


n 


black 
red 


12 


red 


4 
1 

2 


red 
white 


1 

4- 


green 
red 


1 
1 


white 
green 


6 


green 
red 


^2 

3 

2 


red 

dark green 
light green 
red 


2 

5 


green 


6 

o 


purple 
black 
red 
white 


3 

k 

1 

k 


green 
black 


Mac Dougal. 
3 red 


2 


white 
black 


4 
3 


light green 
dark green 
red 


6 


green 


1| 


green 


3 


green 


1 


red 


2 


white • 


n 


red 


1 


1 


blue 


n 


red 


6 


green 


white 


2 

18 


red 


2 


black 


24 


red 



» There is a white stripe introduced ior distinction oy 
Mac Donald wears a pattern composed of red and green. 



TABLE OF CLAN TAATAJNS. 



505 



fr of an ^ , 
inch. C;olors. 



Mac Intosh. * 



12 
6 

lOi 



red 
blue 
red 
.green 
red 
blue 



n 

7 

7 
I 

7 



green 
black 
green 
black 
green 
corbeau 



1 2" green 



Mac Kenzie. 

blue 

black 

blue 

black 

blue 

black 

green 

black 

white 

black 

green 

black 

blue 

black 

red 

black 

blue 

black 



3i 

u 

ll 

u 

'i 

7 
7 

H 

7 

7 

u 






irreen 
black 
white 
black 



4 

6 

£4 


red 

green 

red 

blue 

red 


Mac Kay. 


a 

4 

7 


green 
corbeau 


1 
7 


green 
black 



i of an 
inch. 



Colors. 



7 green 

7 black 

li blue 

1| black 

1 1 blue 

li black 

7 blue 



Mac KixXxVon. 
white 



1 

l| red 

1 

1 

3 



green 

blue 

red 

green 

red 

blue 

green 

red 

green 

white 

red 
white 

red 

white 

green 

red 

green 

blue 

red 

green 

red 

blue 

green 



1| red 
1 white 



Mac Lachlan. 



red 
black 
red 
black 
red 
8 black 
8 blue 
1| green 
8 blue 
8 black 
3 red 



i of an ^ , 
inch. C-o'ors. 



black 
red 



Mac Lean, 

black 
red 
azure 
red 
green 
black 
H white 



1 

2 

n 
1 

\i 

5 
I 



1 



3| 

2 
1 

2 



1 

5 

n 
1 



black 

yellow 

black 

azure 

black 

yellow 

black 

white 

black 

green 

red 



U red 



1 



black 



Mac Leod. 



yellow 

black 

blue 

black 

green 

black 

red 

black 

green 

black 

blue 

black 

yellow 



Mac Nab. 
green 
crimson 
green 
crimson 
red 

crimson 
red 



i of an „ , 
inch. ^"'ors. 



6 


crimson 


1 


green 


1 


crmison 


1 


green 


1 


crimson 


6 


green 


1 


crimson 


1 


green 


1 


crimson 


1 


green 


6 


crimson 


6 


red 


1 


crimson 


6 


red 


6 


crimson 


6 


green 


1 


crimson 



Mac Naughton. 



I black 

5 azure 

8 red 

8 green 

6 black 

4| azure 

8 red 

I azure 

5 black 

h azure 

8^ red 

4\ azure 

6 black 

8 green 

8 red 

I" azure 

h black 



Mac Neil. 



1 
6 
6 
6 

Oi 



white 
smalt 
black 
green 
black 
I yellow 
21 black 
6 green 
6 black 
6 smalt 
i white 



• The chief also wears a particular tartan of a very showy pattern. 



506 



APPENDIX. 



iof 
inch 


*" Colors. 


i°c'h^" Colors. 


Inir colors. 


•.„1.r colors. 


Mac 

k 


Pherson.* 

red 

black 

white 


24 
3 
1 
9 


red 
azure 
white 
green 


6 

1 
2 


blue 

black 

blue 


li 

1 

3 

\ 

1 

\ 


green 

yellow 

black 


h 


(inn X7I1? 


white 


2 


red 
azure 


MUXRO. 


1 


red 


blue 
white 


1 


black 


6i 


red 


\ 


white 


3 


black 


2 


azure 


1 

2 


yellow 


\ 


black 


2 


red 


2 


black 


\ 


blue 


\ 


yellow 


^i 


white 


azure 


w 


red 


1 


purple 


2 


red 


3 


black 


is" 


green 


1 

2 


yellow 


\ 


white 


4 


yellow 
^ green 
red 


H 


red 


^ 


green 


2 


red 


1 

2 


blue 


i 
2 


yellow 


1 

2 


black 


5-|- 
1 


1 
2 


yellow 




black 


1 
2 


yellow 


azure 


u 


red 


1 


red 


3i 


green 


5-1- 


red 


3 


blue 


1 
2 


black 


1 


black 


1 


azure 


1| 


red 


\ 


red 


31 


green 


4 


red 


\ 


yellow 


\ 


black 


1 


black 


green 
yellow 


1 

2 


blue 


h 


red 


3i 


green 


i 


13 


red 


1 
2 


black 


\ 


yellow 


3 


black 


^\ 


green 


1 


yellow 


\ 


black 


o 


azure 


H 


red 


2 


green 


2 


red 


1 
^ 
1 


black 


11 


green 


1 


yellow 


1 


white 


azure 


U 


red 


h 


black 


2 


red 


black 


li 


green 


2 


red 


1 

2 


white 


2 


azure 


13 


red 


h 


white 


2 


red 




red 






2 


red 


1 


black 


5i 






2 
1- 


white 


Murray. 


1 


black 


i 


yellow 


i 

i 


black 


1 


blue 


h 


yellow 


2 


green 


red 


1 


black 


2 


green 


i 


white 




6 


blue 


h 


white 


2 


green 


Mac 
2i 


Quarrie. 


6 
6 


black 
green 


2 

X 

2 


green 
yellow 


JL 

2 

1 
2 


yellow 
black 


red 


2 


red 


-I- 


purple 


2 


red 


12 


blue 


6 


green 


1 


red 


^^ 


white 


15 


red 


6 


black 


1 

2 


black 


2 


red 


^ 


azure 




blue 


3| 


red 


1 

2 


white 


2 


red 




black 




white 


2 


red 


^i 


azure 




blue 




blue 


1 

2 


black 


15 


red 




black 


white 


1 


yellow 


12 


blue 


6 


blue 


3| 


red 


3-1 


green 


5 


red 




black 


\ 


white 


1 


black 


16 


green 




blue 


\ 


blue 


1| 


green 


7 


red 




black 


31 


red 


















blue 


2 
1 


black 


Ro 


BERTSON. 








Menzies. 1 


6 


black 


2 
1 


red 


* 


red 


12 


red 


6 


green 


1 


green 


1 


green 


9 


green 


2 


red 


1 


yellow 


H 


red 


1 


white 


6 


green 


11 


green 


1 


blue 


3 


azure 


6 


black 


1 
2 


yellow 


1 


red 



* The chief has recently dressed in a different pattern, which is said to have been 
formerly worn by his family. 



TABLE OF CLAN TARTANS. 



601 



\l[r Co'o- 


V/ch." Co'«- 


V/cH." Colors. 


\lr C-'o- 


8^ 


green 




Ross. 


5 


black 


1 black 


1 

8^ 


red 


4| 


green 


3 
16 


azure 
red 


11 blue 


green 


1 


red 






red 


9 


green 


3 


azure 


Urquhart. 




green 


9 


red 


5 


black 


4 green 


8^ 


red 


1 


green 


i 


yellow 


1 black 




green 


2 


red 


1 


black 


1 green 




red 


1 


green 


1 


white 


1 black 




green 


9 


red 


1 


black 


1 green 


81 


red 


9 


blue 


8 


green 


8 black 




green 


1 


red 


4 


red 


8 blue 




red 


9 


blue 


1 


black 


1 red 


H 


blue 


9 


red 


H 


red 


8 blue 


fi J 


red 


4 


blue 


1 


white 


8 black 
8 green 
1 black 


»2 


green 
red 


1 

2 
1 


red 
blue 


Sutherland. 




blue 


h 

9 


red 


5| 


blue 


1 green 


8i 


red 

green 

red 


blue 
red 


1 

1 
1 


black 

blue 

black 




"2 


Breacan na'n Cle- 








rach, or Tartan of 
the Clergy. 


8| 


green 
red 


Sinclair. 


1 
8 


blue 
black 


blue 


9 


red 


8 


green 


^ white 




red 


10 


green 


1 


black 


21 black 


8^ 


green 


-2 


black 


8 


green 


1 white 


^ 


red 


h 


white 


8 


black 


2 gray 






4 
18 


azure 
red 


8 
1 


blue 
black 


^ white 
5 black 




Rose. 


4 


red 






1 


blue 


n 1 






-2 s^^y 


5 


blue 


Stewart. 


1 


black 


1 black 


5 


black 


k 


white 


8 


blue 


^ gray 


6 


green 


n 


red 


8 


black 


5 black 


^ 


white 


1 


black 


8 


green 


-^ white 


2 


black 


4 


red 


1 


black 


13 black 


"i 


white 


8 


green 


8 


green 


1 white 


5 


green 


1 


black 


8 


black 


2 gray 


5 


black 


1 


white 


1 


blue 


1 white 


5 


blue 


1 


black 


1 


black 


^ black 


I 


red 


h 


yellow 


1 


blue 


1 white 



INDEX 



Abduction ol" woinc n, 474. 
Aberdeen, old, axes of the guard of, 204. 

shire, flint arrow heads in, 226. 

anciently noted for sheep, 285. 

abundance of fish in, 330. 

Abernethy, palace at, 2fiO, tower at, 266. 
Abury, temple described, 450. 
Achindoer, earth houses at, 260. 
Acts against Highland dress, 1S4. 

repealed, ibid. 

Adultress, how punished, 149. 

Aeduans, their mode of government, 132. 

Agincourt, battle of, 229. 

Agriculture, 294 — Welsh laws respecting, 298 — 

respect of the Romans for, 299, n. — ancient 

marks of, 303— in Hebrides, 304. 
Agrippina, its siege, 252. 
Aireach, 105. 

Airisaid, an ancient habit, 179. 
Alarm, methods of giving, 103. 
Albanach, 46, 50. 

Duan, an ancient poem, 390 

Albani, origin of the name, 21, n. 

the Scotish war cry, 198. 

Albania, 50. 

Alee, a singular animal, 272. 

Alcis, worship of, 459. 

Aldborough, ruins at, 257. 

Ale, Pictish, 345 — herb, ibid. 

Alesia, a Celtic town, 243. 

Alia, defeat of the Romans at, 90 

Altacholihan, battle of, 213. 

Alting, 144. 

Alves, discoveries at, 480. 

Amber, vessels of, 377. 

Amida, heroism of the Celts at, 97. 

Amusements of the Highlanders, 400. 

Anecdotes of heroism, 95. 

Anspach, Margrave of, 422 

Argyle, Duke of, 211, 415. 

Assvnt, laird of, 350. 

Athol, Duke of, 280. 

Boiscalus, 477. 

Breusa, William de, ^1. 

Campbell, John, 211. 

Cameron of Lochiel, 324. 

Clan Rannald, 135. 

Clark, George, 421. 

Kennedy, 424. 

Clovis, King of France, 105 

Coote, Sir Eyre, 420. 

A Frenchman, 137. 

. Dionysius the tyrant, 323. 

— Gordon, Duke of, 425. 

■ Mac Bane, Gillies, 95. 

Mac Codrum, a bard, 390. 

Mac Donald of the Isles, 110. 

Captain, 211. 

of Keppoch, 82, 110, 140, 

Donald, of Aberarder; 



Anecdotes of Mac Gregor, of GlenstraB, 333. 

Mac Intosh, James, 417. 

Mac Kenzie, Roderick, 126. 

Mac Lean, of Coll, 431. 

Mac Lean, John Garbh, of Coll, 41' 

Mac Leod, Donald, 211. 

Mac Pherson, of Cluny, 212. 

Ewen, 390. 



- Mac Rimmon, 423. 

• Mar, Earl of, 211. 

- Munro, of Culcairn, 126. 

- Nelan, an Irish bard, 384. 

- Robertson, of Lude, 211. 

- Steuart, 218. 

• Stratherne, Earl of, 186, &c. 



Anglesea, its formation, 42. 

Angli, painting of their bodies, 153. 

Animals, extinct, 271 

Anna clough muUach, cave at, 259, n. 

Annals, preserved by bards, 388. 

Ansibarians, their hard fate, 31, 477. 

Aonachs, or fairs, 368. 

Apple trees, 69. 

Aquitani, 32. 

Arable land, how estimated, 300. 

Araradh, 313, 321. 

Archers, royal Scotish, 227. 

Archery, trial of, between Scots and English, 222— 
laws to encourage, ^3. 

Architecture of the Britons, 249, 254. 

Ard na soeur, ruins at, 257. 

Areopagus, court of, 144. 

Argyle, etymology of, 291, n. 

Arie, employment at, 291. 

Arkel, its peculiar deer, 274. 

Arms of the Celts ; number collected by M. Wade, 
240 — custom of exchanging, ibid — time of fix- 
ing, ibid — of Scotland, 433 — deposited with 
the dead, 480. 

Army, how commanded. 111 — how drawn up, ibid. 

Arrows, a signal of war, 104 — sent to assemble a 
ting, 145 — how pointed, 224, 227. 

Arthel, or arvel dinner, 483. 

Arthur's oven, a curious building, 2S3. 

Artificers, British, their skill, 376. 
hereditary, 378. 



333. 



Arvydd Vardd, a Welsh herald, 387. 

Arymes prydain, Welsh war song, 116. 

Asion, Irish regal cap, 176, n. 

Assemblies, their speedy convocation, 103. 

Assythments, 147. 

Athol, men of, their numbers, 77. 

Atticots, 55. 

Augury, skill in, 460. 

Auris Batavorum, 84. 

Auxerre, cave at, 259. 

Avaricura, a Celtic town, described, 243 — its noble 

defence, 95, 250. 
Azores, 40. 

B 

Baal, or Beil, the chief god of the Celts, 45J— 
ceremonies respecting, 477, 



610 



INDEX. 



Baal tein, feast of the sun, 453. 

Bachul Murry, 107. 

Badenach, a gymnasium at, 211 — cave at, 259. 

Badges, 19G— list of, 197. 

Baggage, how disposed, 109. 

Bagpipe, known to Greeks and Romans, 420 — 
origin among Scots, 421 — Highland, the only 
national instrument, 420 — its etfects, 420 to 
422 — its use encouraged, 425 — used at fune- 
rals, 488. 

Baking, how performed, 321. 

Balearic Isles, 201. 

Banchory, Laird of, 415. 

Band, the hundred, 104. 

Banff, the supposed residence of Andrea Ferrara, 
210. 

Bannockburn, field of, 223. 

Banquet, Highland^ account of, 342. 

Baptism, a Pagan rite, 458. 

Bards, 126— their duties, 115, 116, 117, 385, 386, 
387, 460— their portion, 326— education, 385, 
389 — their compositions, 383 — persecuted, 383. 

Bark of trees, a manufacture, 155. 

Barniekin, a hill fort, 244. 

Barns, used for drying corn, 311. 

Barra hill, a Caledonian fort, 244. 

Barritus, 112. 

Barrows, sepulchral, their varieties, 482. 

Bass, of Inverury, 145. 

Battle axe, 204. 

shout,n2, 198. 

Bear, a natural product of Britain, 271. 

Beaver, once found in Britain, ibid. 

Beds of the Highlanders, 375— flock, invented by 
Gauls, ibid. 

Bees, their culture, 342. 

Belgae, 30 — arrival In Britain, 44 — possessions, 
ibid. — agriculture, 294— dress, 155, 156. 

Belt, 219 — how ornamented, 177, 219 — worn by 
women, 179. 

Ben Nevis, mountain, its height, 262. 

Beothach an Fheoir, a singular animal, 275. 

Bernera, duns destroyed to build, 262. 

Bidag: see Dirk. 

Birch, a native tree, 66. 

Birlaw men, a rural jury, 300. 

Bituriges, their towns burned, 251. 

Black, used by Gauls for mourning, 485. 

Bladair, the chiePs spokesman, 120. 

Blood, drinking of, 106. 

Blue, the favourite color of the Britons, 158. 

Boars, 273— hunting of, 279. 

Boat racing, 443. 

Bod, hut or cottage so called, 256. 

Bodies, burning of, 478. 

Boined, 175. 

Bonagh, an Irish exaction, 131 — beg, do. ibid. — 
bur, ibid. 

Bonnaughts, the pay of Galloglasses, 215. 

Bonnet, forms of, 176. 

Boots, origin of, 171. 

Boundaries, 22, 298. 

Bow and arrows, 220 — Scotish, 223 — when last 
used, ibid. — how made, 224. 

Braces, a vestment, described, 170. 

Brffi mar, famed for deer, 274. 

Brahan Castle, arms of the Highlanders delivered 
up at, 240. 

Braidalban, men of, their numbers, 77. 

Braonan, used as food, 319. 

Brass, its manufacture, 371. 

Bratach shi, of Mac Leod, 195. 

Breacan, a sort of coat armor, 161 — feile, described, 
167 — its usefulness, 183. 

Bread, 321. 

Brechin, round tower at, 267. 

Breeches, derivation of the word, 171 — mistake 
of a Highlander concerning, 175. 

Brehon, the Celtic judge, 144. 

Breith a nuas, 148. 

Brettania, first mention of, 43. 

Britain, suppositions, 39, 43 — etymology of, ibid. — 
first inhabitants, 41, 42, 43 — intercourse with 
the Continent, 44 — its products, 371. 

Britannia, Romana and barbaria, 49. 

British army, its arrangement, 110 — horses, 228 — 
town described, 241, 242. 

Pritons, 44— ardent in cause of liberty, 98 — cor- 
rupted by Roman luxury, 99 — defensive ar 



mor, 185 — offensive do.— their retreats, 255, 
259, 267— their grain, 302— manures, 304 — 
cookery, .322— deities, 453— statues of do. 449 
— stature, 78 — swiftness of foot, 82 — painted 
their bodies, 152 — expert charioteers, 231 — 
their management of the car, 236. 

Brog, or shoe, 172. 

Brooch, its use, 167— of Bruce, 180— of Glenlyon, 
ibid. 

Browns, of Kincardine, musicians, 412. 

Brynly's Castle, a British work, 250 

Brython, 45. 

Buffaloes, 275. 

Builg, the Highland knapsack, 177. 

Burkes, the, plundered, 294. 

Butter, how made, 319. 



Cairns, sepulchral, 481. 

Caledonia, etymology of, 46. 

Caledonian ox, 274, 286. 

Caledonians, first mention of, 45 — their territories 
47— warlike renown, 93, 99— oaths, 107— 
dress, 154 — swords and spears, 206 — arrows, 
227— cavalry, 228— houses, 255, 257, 267— 
agriculture, 294 — food, 318— prejudice to fish, 
329— ships, 362, 364— ancient dancing, 439— 
modern do. 440 — tournament, 442 

Calpich, 147. 

Canianachd, a game, 443. 

Camerons of Lochiel, their numbers, 77. 

Campbells, their respect for Duan Diarmid, 394— 
some funeral observances among, 484. 

Cane, 147. 

Cann.-B, battle of, 171. 

Cannibalism, 323. 

Canoes, remains of, 361. 

Caoins, or Cine, Irish, 399. 

Cappeene, 176. 

Capercailzie, a mountain bird, 276. 

Carnac, temple at, 452. 

Carnbre, a British work, 250. 

Carriages, 314. 

Carrows, Irish gamesters, 441. 

Carthaginians, their tents, 254. 

Carucate, 300. 

Cascrom, an implement of agriculture, 309. 

Casdireach, do. ibid. 

Cashell, round tower at, 266. 

Cassiterides, islands of, 40. 

Castell Corndochon, a British work, 250 

Castles of the Pictish kings, 260. 

Catharn ; see Cearnach. 

Cath dath, a sort of cloth, 158. 

Catherthuns, Caledonian strongholds, 244. 

Catlighairm, Highland battle shout, 112. 

Cath tei, a fiery dart, 205. 

Cats, wild, 273. 

Catti, manner of wearing their hair, 84 — contend 
for a salt river, 328. 

Cattle, their ancient numbers, 285 — folds, 289 — 
diseases, how treated, 226, 292, 293— spoil of, 
how divided, ibid.--the first article of traflic, 
368. 

Cavalry, 223 — how attacked by the Highlanders, 
229— mode of fighting with, 230, 235— Irish. 
229. 

Caves of the aborigines, 259. 

Cearnach, Highland light infantry, lOR— their du 
ties, 108, 214. 

Celti-B, etymology of, 20— their territories, 30. 

Celtiberi, 32— famous sword makers, 208— their 
drink, 343, 372. 

Celto-scvths, 29. 

Celts, armies of, their numbers, 75 — how raised, 103 
—how drawn up, 109— personal appearance, 
78— dispositions, 88, 89— exploits, 89, 94 to 
96_contempt of death, 94, 477— method of 
washing and dressing their hair, 8C — method 
of attack, 112— councils, 136, 137— fought 
naked, 16(>— treatment of malefactors, 148— 
pride of dress, 154 — splendor of do. 178 — 
armor, 186 — ambassadors, their reply to Al- 
exander, 98— chief, how supported, 122— 
holdings, 13.5— final struggle for indepen- 
dence, 100— costume, 151— shields, how orna- 
mented, 195— methods of defending and at- 
tacking a town, 250, 951— their towns, 24B, 



INDEX 



511 



258— manner of hunting, 278, 281— prejudice 
10 fisli, 277 — cookery, 327 — aversion to pork, 
328— their gods, 449, 453— drank little at 
meals, 341 — recipes, 353 — surgical knowledge, 
357— their affluence, 370— manufactures, 371, 
378 to 380. 

Celts, stone weapons so called, 202 — curious dis- 
coveries of, 137. 

Cemetery, druidical, at lona, 483. 

Cetra, a sort of shield, 189. 

Chaff, how separated from grain, 312. 

Chain mail, a Celtic invention, 186. 

Chains, golden, a common ornament, 178. 

Chariot, for war, described, 231 to 234 — races, 236. 

(/harioteers, their importance, 231. 

Chattan, clau, fight at Perth, 214— their gathering, 
427. 

Chanting at funerals, 486. 

Cheese, 291,320. 

Chenerotis, a favorite British dish, 329. 

Chief, his authority, 103, 105— his body guard, 107 
— his electiori in Ireland, 105 — duties in war, 
ibid. 106, 111 — inauguration, 138— his name 
used as an oath, 107. 

Children, how reared, 81, 476. 

Chirin, clan ; see Clan. 

Chisholins, the, their strength, 77 — gathering, 427. 

Christmas ba'ing of monymusk, 443. 

Churches, of wattle, 2.^5 — covered with heath, 268. 

Churn, invented by the Celts, 319. 

Cimbri, their situation, 24 — power, 26 — their daring 
exploits, 37 — invasion of Italy and defeat, 90. 

Cimmerii, their situation, 24, 26— lived in caverns, 
259. 

Cincogish, law of, 123, 142. 

Cine, or Keen, Irish funeral lament, 399. 

Circus, a place of worship, 145. 

Cisalpine Gaul, a Roman province, 33. 

Cities, their numbers in Britain, Gaul, and Spain, 
242. 

Clachan Os3ian,the bard's monumental stone, 395, 
482. 

Clach cuid-fir, a trial of strength, 442. 

Clans, their numbers, 76 to 78— oaths, 107— Clan 
na Falter, 197— Chattan, fight at Perth, 214 — 
Chirin, war cry, 199 — Connan, 133 — Munter- 
casduff, ibid. — Rannald, war cry, 199 — chief 
of, anecdote, 135 — his cavalry, 228 — gather- 
ing, 427 — Ricard war cry, 200. 

Clanship, 118. 

Classerness, temple at, 451. 

Clechda, 300. 

Clergy carried arms, 214. 

Cliar, or sling, 201. 

Clodh, 158. 

Cloghadh, or round tower, 266. 

Club, a military weapon, 201. 

Clubbar, an agricultural implement, 314. 

Clubbing hair, a mode of dressing it, 85 

Cnag, a singular bird, 277. 

Coals, when first used, 326. 

Coat armor, origin of, 193, 197 

Cocherell, discoveries at, 480. 

Coenas, a vestment, 155, 166. 

Coffin, how carried by the Gael, 485. 

Coin of the Britons, 368— Gaelic name of, 369. 

Colda mo run, a pinhrachd, 429. 

Colors, in cloth, how regulated, 158. 

Comhairlich, or councillors, 136,386. 

Commanders, how elected, 105. 

Commerce of the Celts, 370. 

Common holding, its origin, 296 — ad vantages, 297. 

Common law, of druidic origin, 382. 

Complexions of Celts, 86. 

Connan, clan, 133. 

Cookery, 81. 

Corn, varieties, 3112 — how preserved, 311. 

Cornwall, ruins in, 249, 257. 
Coronach, or funeral lament, 399. 
Coronation stone, of Scotish kings, 137. 
Corpulence offensive to Celts, 317. 
Coshering feasts described, 335. 
Costume of ancient (^elts, 165 to 170 — of the High- 
landers, 183— of the Irish, 157, 181. 
Cota, a Celtic vestment, 166. 
Cottages, Highland, 21)7. 
Cottars, their situation, 299. 
Coul, castle, described, 264. 



Councils, general, 102— of officers, 105 — of elders, 

136. 
Countries, districts so called, 121. 
Courts transferred to churches, 145— removed, 4.53. 
Covinus, a sort of chariot, 231. 
Crantaraidh described, 103. 
Creach explained, 141. 
Crests, or badges, 196. 
Crimes, how compensated, &c. 146. 
Cromleach described, 459. 
Crowns, golden, found in Ireland, 373. 
Croy, curious sculpture at, 167. 
Crubban, an agricultural implement, 314. 
Cruinneachadh, or gathering, 422. 
Cruit, a musical instrument, 415. 
Crutheni, Picts so called, 53. 
Cuaran, a sort of shoe, 172. 
CucuUus, a sort of cap, 166. 
Cudgel playing, a favorite Highland game,211 
Cuidoich, a servitude, 147. 
Cuirtan, a sort of cloth, 180. 
Ciilbin hills, discoveries at, 225. 
Culdees, primitive clergy, 471. 
Culloden battle, anecdotes of heroism at, 95, &c. 
Cults, discovery at, 225. 
Cumhadh, or lament, 399. 
Cummings slain by the Mac Phersons, 263— of Fro- 

uchie, musicians, 412. 
Cumri, 43. 

Curach, a Highland boat, 363. 
Curmi, malt liquor, 344. 
Curragh of Kildare, 237. 
Cursus described, 236. 

D 

Daci, where situated, &c. 28 — their symbol, 190. 

Dagger, 215 ; see Dirk. 

Dairy, how managed, 319. 

DalniiBk, ruins at, 258. 

Dalriada, settlement in, 52. 

Dalriads, account of, 53. 

Dancing, 437 — Highland steps in, 440. 

Davach, a measure of land, 300. 

Days of the week, their Gaelic names, 468. 

Dealg, 177. 

Death, disregard of, 477. 

Deemsters, law officers in man, 144. 

Deer, 274— formerly domesticated, 286. 

Deities, Celtic, 453. 

Devana, its site, 258. 

Diet of the Highlanders, 324. 

Dining, ancient Irish mode of, 339. 

Dirk, 216 — its usefulness, 217— carried by the 42nd 
regiment, 218— ornaments of the hilt, 919 — 
dance, 220, 439. 

Dis, a Celtic god, 4.55. 

Dishes, various Scotish, 325 to 3.30. 

Divination, modes of, 461. 

Divisions of territory, 121, 192, 297, 298. 

Dogs, excellence of the British, 237— of the Scots, 
277, 278. 

Dorlach, the Highland knapsack, 177. 

Douay, singular custom at, 466. 

Doune, manufacture of purses at, 177 — of pistols, 
239. 

Dower, marriage, 474. 

Draonaich, name of the Picts, 295 — their agricul- 
ture, 306. 

Drenthiem, temple at, 451. 

Dress, 15.t— of the Gauls, 153 to 155— HiL'lil:ind, 
157, &c. — prohibited, 174— manner of [iiitting 
on, 167— Irish, 157, &c.— prohibited, 171. 

Drinking, manner of, in the Highlands, 343 to 350 
— among the Irish, 349. 

Drinks of the Celts, Britons, Picts, and Gael, 343, 
344. 

Drovers, Highland, 393. 

Druid dubh, a bird, 277. 

Druidism, 446, &c.— believed to have oriiinnted 
in Britain, 448 — how taught, ibid. — its thief 
seat, 453, 466— its abolition, 469 — mixed with 
early Christianity, 470. 

Druids, their duties, 116, 144, 297, 460— their dress, 
159, 467 — their physical skill, 353 — variety of 
knowledge, 468, &c. — mode of reckoning, 
468 — their predictions, ibid. — last mention of, 
470 



5J2 



INDEX 



Drumceat, council of, 387, 470. 

Drumlaiirig, wild cattle at, 286. 

Duan, a sort of poem, 397. 

DufFhouse, arms at, 213. 

Duine nasals, an order of society, 124. 

Duinnonii, their worship, 460. 

Duns, Celtic forts, 246, 256— dun creich, 247— 

dornuhil, 203— staffnage, 267— deer, 247. 
Dundee, bonnets made at, 177. 
Dunvegan Castle, shield at, 191. 
Dyestuffs, 160, 161. 
Dyeing cloth, perfection of Celts in, 158, 159, 183. 

E 

Eagle, 276 — mountain, projected order of, 198 — 
feathers of the, badge of Highland nobility, 
ibid. 

Earl, origin of, 133. 

Eartlien works, 122. 

Earth houses, 260, 311. 

Edessa, statues of Celts at, 97. 

Edgehill, battle of, 201. 

Edinburgh, axes of the town guard, 204. 

Edwin's hall, an ancient ruin, 264. 

Elm, probablv indi^'enous, C8. 

Eleusis, capital of Thrace, 29. 

Elf shot, 225. 

Enach, 147. 

Ensign stalTof Mac Duffaid, 195. 

Eric, 146. 

Esseda, a chariot so called, 232. 

Essie, discovery of arrow heads at, 225. 

Esus, or Hesus", a Gaulish god, 456. 

Everiey, discovery at, 480. 

Evreux, discovery at, 479. 

Eyebrows, small, esteemed beautiful, 87. 

Eyes, color of, 86. 



Faiter, clan na, their duty, 195. 

Fairies, 476. 

Fala, Scots' army at, 222. 

Falkirk, battle of, 95. 

Fane, ruins at, 265. 

Farf]uharsons, their strength, 77 — war cry, 199. 

Fascines, use of, in battle, 109. 

Fast-brotherhood, 106. 

Farms, management of, 314. 

Feadhan dubh, or black chanter, 435. 

Feasts of the Celts, 331 — how conducted, 340 — at 

Highland huntings, 3313 — at funerals, ibid. 

479 — in Wales, how regulated, 337 — of the 

old Irish, 339. 
Felt, a Gaulish manufacture, 155. 
Females, their beauty, 87 — condition, 148 — respect 

paid to, 115, 128, 148, 149, 472, &c.— dress, 

180, 181. 
Fenns, their manner of life, 254. 
Ferlaoi, a hyninist, 385. 
Feudal tenures, origin of, 139. 
FibuUe, 180. 

Fighting, Celtic, manner of, 128. 
Fileas, an order among the Irish, 385. 
Fir, a native tree, iX — marked a burial place, 483. 
Firbog, an appellation of the Belgoe, 221. 
Fire, a signal of danger, 103 — its place in houses, 

2i;o — how formed, 326— sacred, 293 — preserv- 
ed at Kildare, 454. 
Fire-arms, 237 to 240. 
Fish, Celtic dislike to, 329 to 331. 
Flail, used by the Celts, 312. 
Flathinnis, island of, 42 — the supposed residence 

of the blessed, 463. 
Flaughter spade, 309. 

Fletcliers, repeaters of Ossian's poems, 391 
Flint, weapons of, 224. 
Flour, how made, 313. 
Fogs, curious phenomena of, 42 
Fold, "the old man's," 307. 
Food 316. 

Foot ball, game of, 443. 
Fiirbes's, their gathering, 427. 
Forests, o( Britain, 63 to 67— their productions, 

ibid, &c. — causes of their decay, 70. 
Forfi?ter, his duties and perquisites, 283. 
Forts, vitrified, 246. 



Fosterage, 124. 

Foxes, 273. 

Framont, singular field of antiquities, 152, 459. 

Franks, admiration of the Gallic habit, 155. 

Erasers, their military strength, 76, 77 — revolt of, 

103 — punished for mounting their badge, 197 

— effects of the pipes on, 420. 
French, their war cry, 199. 
Frenchman, anecdote of, 137. 
Funeral rites, 477. 
Funeral monuments, 480. 
Funerals, of the Gauls, 478— Highland, 481, &c.— 

remarkable circumstance at one, 486. 
Furniture of houses, 375. 

G 

Gaesi, lance bearers, 205. 

Gael, inhabitants of Scotland, 46 47 — their curioud 
arts, 183, 357, 379, &c. 

Gaelic MSS., 391, 393. 

Gallatians, or Gallogreeks, 20. 

Gallerus, ruins at, 265. 

Galli, or Celta;, 19, &c.— See Gauls.— Crests of, 196. 

Galloglach, a sort of military, 215 — axe of, 204. 

Gallovie, slieep farm, its extent, 209. 

Galwegians, 58 — their adherence to tanaist law, 
137. 

Games, Highland, 441 — Irish, ibid. 

Garters, 173. 

Gatherings of Clans, 427— of sheep, 287. 

Gauir conrigh, an Irish fort, 244. 

Gauls, their invasion of Italy, 90 — military re- 
nown, 91, 94, 98, &c. — how ordered for bat- 
tle, 103 — their oaths, 106 — conduct previotis 
to an engagement, 112 — despised defensive 
armor, Ibo^their arms, 180 — their hunting, 
278— their delight in fine cattle, 286, 289— 
their longevity, 134 — v.'ere religious, 462. 

Gavel kind, law of, 352 — abolished in Wales, 135 
— in Ireland, ibid. 

Geese, not eaten by the Britons, 276. 

Gentleman, Welsh, indispensibles of, 131 

Geone, a Pictish cohort, 111. 

Gergovia, a Celtic town, 243. 

Germania, its ancient extent, 32. 

Germanni, 30, 31. 

Germans, mode of coloring hair, 86 — their stature, 
91 — their only public diversion, 72 — never 
laid aside their arms, 102 — methods of re- 
cruiting armies, 104 — their oaths, 106 — arms, 
185 — houses, 258 — agriculture, 259, — respect 
for their females, 297, 473 — their funerals, 
479. 

Geta;, or Goths, 27, 29. 

Gilli-casfluich, comh strathainn, coise, more, pio- 
baire, ruithe, trusarneis, 126, 127 — callum, 
439, 440. 

Glacach, a disease, 353. 

Glaslig, a Supernatural being, 303. n. 

Glastum, a dye, 152. 

Glenelg duns in, 261. 

Olenlivet, war cry of, 144 — battle of, 415. 

Glenlyon, brooch of, 180 — famous for archers, 293. 

Glibes, manner of dressing hair, 85. 

Goats, 275, 286. 

Gode, or godordsman, 145. 

Gods of the Celts, 453 to 459— of the Gael, 458. 

Golden ornaments, Celts loaded with, 178. 

Golf, game of, 443. 

Golspie, subterraneous buildings at, 260. 

Goths, 27, 29, 44, 45 

Graddaning, 313. 

Grain, 301 — how separated from the straw, 31V • 
reduced to flot./, ibid. 

Graine, a Gaelic god, 454. 

Grampians, battle of, 99. 

Granaries of the Britons, 311, 312. 

Grants, tlicir force, 77 — of Moynes, deleat the 

Camerons, 141 — their gathering, 427, agility of two, 
440— defeated by the Mac Donalds, 436— of 
Glenmorriston, their charm, ibid- 
Greek inscriptions, in Scotland, 41 

Grenestede, wooden church at, 256. 

Grove, sacred, 448 — near Massylia, described. 466 

Guanacum, a garment of the Britons, 156 

Guns, 238— Earl of Mar's, ibid. 

Guinneach cath, an order of battle, lU 



INDEX. 



5U 



H 

Hair of the Celts, its color, 83 — modes of wearing, 
ibid, to 86 — garments of, 157. 

Halbert, a Scot's weapon, 2U7. 

Halidown Hill, battle of, *2-3. 

Hamden Hill, discoveries at, 232. 

Hanielin, piper of, 431. 

Hammers, deposited in Celtic graves, 203, 479. 

Hardihood of the Celts, 82, 101, 182, &c. 

Hare, not eaten by the Britons, 275— used in divi- 
nation, 461. 

Harp, 414— Irish, ibid— Welsh, ibid. 416— Caledo- 
nian, 415, 416 — of (iueen Mary, 415— of Brian 
Boroimh, 416 — key of, 415 — curious history 
of one, 418. 

Harper, last Highland, 414. 

Harvest, its management in the Highlands, 310. 

Hats, beaver, used by the ancient Welsh, 175 — 
adopted by the Plighlanders, 176. 

Hawking, 284. 

Hawks, master of, his duties and perquisites in 
Wales, 284. 

Hawthorn den, caves at, 259. 

Hebudic islands, king of, 123, 131. 

Helmets, 187. 

Helvetii, 31 — their forces, 75 — law of 130 — their 
muster roll, 420. 

Hens, not eaten by the Britons, 276. 

Herald, anecdote of one, 196. 

Herbs, their imputed virtues, 355. 

Herefordshire beacon, a British strength, 244. 

Herrings, how cured in Sky, 331. 

Hertha, a deity, worship of, 107, 455. 

Hiberni, or Hyberni, Scots formerly so called, 52. 

Hibernia, the ancient name of Scotland, 47. 

Highland, companies, their degeneracy, 101 — 
knights errant, 140 — regiments, their uniform, 
168 — garb described, 169, &c. — nobleman, 
portrait of, 190— club of Edinburgh, 233— 
farm described, 299, 301 — tenantry, former 
state of, 315 — banquet, 341. 

Highlanders, their native denomination, 46 — per- 
sonal appearance, 81 — hardihood, 82, 101, 
1S2, &c. — conduct in 1745, 100 — order of 
march, 111 — manner of fighting, 166 — dress 
restrained, 184, — restored, ibid. — armor, 186 
— fought with clubs, 201— their onset, 212, 
attack with tire arms, 239, 240 — at the battle 
of the Standard, 110— their horses, 229- dis- 
armed, 184,240 — dexterity in hunting, 280 — 
mode of pasturage, 291 — agriculture, 304 to 307 
— superstitions respecting, ibid. — contempt 
for delicacies, 317 — hospitality, 331 — temper- 
ance, 349 — longevity, 359 — manufactures, 373 
to 379 — talent for rhyming, 431 — excel in 
dancing, 439 — modes of divination, 461 — their 
religious feelings, 471 — anxiety for a decent 
interment, 483. 

Highlands, favorable to fruit trees, 69. 

History, preserved in verse, 382, 383. 

Hobblers, Irish horsemen, 229. 

Honey drink, of the Gael, 343. 

Horse soldiers, of Inverness and Moray, 77 — Cel- 
tic, their, dress, 230 — racing introduced from 
Scotland, 237. 

Horses, method of breaking, 229 — wild, 278. 

Hospitality, Celts remarkable for, 331. 

Houses, Highland, 255, 256— of the Britons, 268. 

Hunting, 270, 279— Highland, ibid., 281, 282— 
Welsh, laws respecting, 280 — Scots' do. ib. of 
King James V. 281— royal 283. 

Hybrasil, island of 42. 

Hvperborei,53 — their island, 41. 

Hubbub, Welsh, 104. 



I 



larflath, a title of honor, 133 
Ictis, island of, 40. 
fern, ancient name of Ireland, 48 
Implements of husbandry, 307 
Inheritance, modes of, 134. 
Interment, modes of, 479 to 483 
Inverlochy, castle of, 267. 
Inverness, large ship built at, 361. 

65 



lona, first church at, 255 — the retreat of the Dru- 
ids, 470. 

Ireland, its ancient name, 48 — Gaiilic of, its sup- 
posed introduction to Scotland, 62 — woods, 
66 — subterraneous buildings in, 259 — stone 
do. 264. 

Irish, their stature, 81 — glibes, 85 — order of march- 
ing, 111 — bond of friendship, 106 — wore hair 
garments, 157 — war cries, 199 — dress, 179, 
183 — prohibited, ibid — armor, 187 — dexterous 
stone throwers, 145, — archery, 221 — pride in 
horses, 229, 233 — cannibalism, 324 — mode of 
living, 318 — music, 430— dancing, 438 — ^jest- 
ers, 441 — manner of espousal, 475 — waking 
the dead, 487. 

Iron, chains and plates of, worn by the Picts and 
Caledonians, 178 — manufacture of, in the 
Highlands, 372. 

Isis, goddess of Paris, her statue, 449. 

Isla, celebrated for manufacture of svvordhilts, 210. 

Islands, formed by inundations, 42. 

Italy, its inhabitants, 33. 

luhones, singular conduct of the, 455. 



Jacket, how made, 163. 

Jedworth staff, 201. 

Jigs, Scots and Irish described, 413. 

Judge, Celtic, 144. 

Jurah, cottages in, 256. 

K 

Kale, or Cole, first used by the Grants, 319. 

Kent, its peculiar customs, 134. 

Keppoch, family murdered, 405 — lament for, 429 

Kern, 108,214. See Cearnach. 

Keys, civil officers in Man, 144. 

Kildrummie, eird houses at, 2C0, 311. 

Killicrankie, battle of, 217. 

Killin, a remarkable plain, 301. 

Kilmarnock, famed for manufacture of bonnets, 

177. 
Kimraeridge coal money, 369. 
Kincogish, law of, 123, 142. 
Kineigh, singular tower at, 266. n. 
Kingusie, rath of, 453. 
Kinkynell, law of, 133. 
Kismul, island, castle in, 252. 
Knife and fork, 219, 340. 
Knighthood, its origin, 140. 
Knockferrel, a vitrified fort, 248. 



Lachdan, a sort of cloth, 157, 158. 

Ladies, Highland, their dress, 180— German do. 182. 

La mas ubhal, feast of, 338. 

Laments, Gaelic, 428. 

Languages, 33 to 37 — British, Scotish, Saxon, &c. 
58 to 62 — Gaelic, to what extent changed, 
395 — its adaptation to poetry, 399. 

Lankia, a lance, 205. 

Largo, singular interment at, 479. 

Largs, battle of, 201, 219, 237. 

Larignum, seige of, 245. 

Launceston Castle, a British work, 249. 

Laws, 143 — codes of, ibid. — of colors, 159 — pre- 
served in oral rhyme, 381. 

Lead, its manufacture, 371 — balls of, used for mis- 
siles, 201. 

Leaders of armies, how chosen, 105 — controlled 
by their troops, 106. 

Lenicroich, or saflron shirt, 181. 

Leslie among the Lietlis, origin of the tune of, 217. 

Leudus, a Celtic hymn, 397. 

Lewis, inhabitants, celebrated for archery, 223. 

Lights of the Gael, 341. 

Linen, a Celtic manufacture, 182. 

Lint, its management in the Highlands, 310 

Lion, the badge of the Celts, 196, 432-.laughaDle 
mistake concerning, 196. 

Liturgy, Gaelic, 365. 

Loam, a division of Argyle, .54. 

Lochaber, gymnasium in, 439 — axe, 20S 

Loehenlour, ancient iron works at, 204 

Lochow, garters made at, 161. 



514 



INDEX. 



Locks, wooden, of the Higrilaiiders, 379. 

Logan, moss of, discovery in, 71. 

Lon-dubh, a singular animal, 272. 

Lords of the Isles, manner of crowning, 138— 

mode of conveying lands, 140. 
Lothian, where situated, 60. 
Luathadh, described, 158. 
Luchdtachk, 108, 126. 
Lusitani, their military ardor, 108 — dancing, 438 

— marriages, 474. 
Lychlyn, the ancient name of the Baltic, 32. n. 
Lyric compositions, prevail in the Highlands, 402. 

M 

Macaladh cattle, 125. 

Mac Carters, pipers to the lords of tue isles, 425. 

Mac Donalds, their strength, 76, 77— led the ripht 
wing of an army, 110— of Slate, their strength, 
77_of Glengary, do. ibid.— of Keppoch, do. 
ibid. — of Moidart, do. ibid. 

Mac Dulothes, their strength, ibid. 

Mac Euens, their strength, ibid. 

Mac Farlane's, gathering of the, 427. 

Mac Gregors, clan na sgeulachd, 425 — their pio- 
brachd, 427. 

Macheera, a sort of sword, 220. 

Mac Intoshes, their strength, 77— their descent, 132. 

Mac Kenzies, their strength, 76 — crest, 103 — pun- 
ished for mounting their badge, 197— military 
music, 429. 

Mac Leans of Coll, their gathering, 427. 

Mac Leods, their strength, 76, 77. 

Mac Niels of Barra. 131. 

Mac Niels, harpers to the Mac Leans of Duart, 418. 

Mac Phersons, their strength, 76, 77— their military 
success, 436. 

Mac Swineys, famed for hospitality, 336. 

Magistrates, their election, 136. 

Magnentiae, Celtic legions, their daring exploits, 97. 

Malefactors, how punished, 148 

Manchester, ruins at, 257. 

Mannus, a German god, 456. 

Mantle, the Irisli, 173. 

Manufactures, 370 to 374, 376 to 378— adaptation of 
the Highlands for, — see Costume. 

Manures, 304. 

Manx, their laws, 144 — dances, 438 — funerals, 
485. 

March ; see Boundary. 

Marl, 304. 

Matadh achalaisc, a dagger, 220. 

Meals of the Highlanders, 338. 

MeatEB, 56. 

Medical knowledge, 352. 

Medicines, ancient MS. on, 357. 

Merched mulierum, 149. 

Metal, manufacture of, 372. 

Mhona liath, its famous deer, 274. 

Miclis, island of, 40. 

Milk, substances for curdling, 291— how used, 
344. 

Mill, hand, 313— horizontal, ibid. 

Minstrels, superiority of the Scots, 430. 

Miricath, 117, 126. 

Mirrors, metal, 373. 

Misletoe, veneration for, 464. 

Moars, officers in the Isle of Man, 145. 

Mona, or Mf-na, a deity, 457. 

Mona, the retreat of the Druids, 466. 

Moniesaff, discoveries at, 203. 

Moose deer, 272— garment formed of the skin, 
157. 

.Moothills, their origin, 145, 453. 

Mousa, burg of, 203. 

Muc, a military machine, 252. 

Multures, 313. 

Mungret Ahbev, its celebrated choir, 408. 

Munroes, their force, 77— overthrow the Mac In- 
toshes, 143. 

Murrain, how averted, 293. 

Music, its origin and progress, 406, &c.— its use in 
religion,''407— how taught, 409— terms in, ibid. 
—Irish, 410— Welsh, 411— Military of the 
Mac Kenzies, 429— Scotish, its peculiar scale, 
410. 
Musical instruments, 413. 



N 

Naharvali, t.ieir singular worship, 459. 

Nations of Europe, their origin, 23 — northern, 104» 

Neckcloths, 178. 

Needfire, how produced, 293. 

Nehelania, a Celtic goddess, 457. 

Nervii, their force, 76 — their cities, 242 — their for 

tifications, ibid. — manner offortifying a camp, 

244 — their temperance, 348. 
Nightingale, its Gaelic appellation, 272. 
Nobility, indicated by the number of vassals, 120 
Nomades, 26. 
Notation, musical, 409. 
Noth, a vitrified fort, 247. 

o 

Oak, a native of Scotland, 67. 

Oatcakes, Scotish soldiers'methodof making, 322 

Oaths, Celtic, 106— Highland, 107. 

Obelisks, sepulcliral, 4B2. 

O'Calinanes, famous physicians, 358. 

Ocean, its encroachment, 64. 

Oigthierna, a title, 133. 

Ollamh, his course of study, 385— qualification 
and value, 386. 

Oral record, veneration for, 382— history commit- 
ted to, 388. 

Order, in assemblies, singular mode of preserving, 
137— observed in Highland armies, 127— of 
the mountain eagle, 198— of the Thistle, 
ibid. 71. 

Ossan, 173 — preasach, 180. 

Ossianic music, 429 — poetry, 399. 

Ovates, a religious order, 460. 

0.\gate, its extent, 300. 



Painting the body, 151, 153— prohibited, ibid. 

Parishes, size of, in Scotland, 471. 

Pastoral state, 28.5 — melodies, 413. 

Pasturage, 290. 

Patterns of tartan, how given, 161. 501. 

Paupers in the Highlands, 335. 

Pearls, British, 377. 

Pelta;, a shield, 189. 

Pen pits, singular excavations, 312. 

Personal appearance, 80. 

Perth, battle of, 213, 436. 

Gai-lic poem on, 404. 

Pharmacy, .356. 

Phoenicians, the supposed discoverers of Britain, 39. 

Physicians, Scots, hereditary, 357 — their prescrip- 
tions, ibid. 

Picardy, excavation at, 259. 

Picts, .53— their native appellation, 258 — identity 
with Scots, 53 — last mention of, 57 — their 
houses, 257 — ale, 345. 

Piobmhor, 433 to 434. 

Piobrachd, 422 to 420— list of, 427. 

Pipe, 418— lowland, 434 — Irish, ibid.— Northum- 
berland, 434— scale of, 435 — how performed 
on, ibid. 436. 

Piper, his duties, 423— of Mac Leod, 425— of Mac 
Donald, ibid. 

Pipers, competition of, 425. 

Pistols, 238. 

Plaid, how worn, 168 — by women, 181. 

Plough, Gallic, 307— Scots, &c. 308. 

Poems, their antiquity, 3S8— how preserved, 393. 

Poetic history, of what extent, 404. 

Poetry and music, 381. 

Poetrv, its influence, 383 to 38.5- its construction, 
396 to 398— Gaelic specimens, 400 to 404— 
manner of composing, 407. 

Pope, liis ambassador hunts in Athol, 281 — obser- 
vation on his entertainment, 342. 

Poplar tree, a native of Scotland, 68. 

Population, causes afl^ecting, 73-— of Britain, 74— 
of Wales, 498— of Scotland, 76— favored by 
the patriarchal state, 78. 

Pork, antipathy tn, 289. 

Pots, &c. of the Highlanders, 327. 

Potter, art of, among the Britons, 376 



INDEX. 



515 



Prescriptions, medical, 357. 

Prosnacliadh catli, ua, IIG— its effect, 398— gari 

ach, 117, 401— lairge, 3(35. 
Purse, 177. 
Pythagoreans, their cultivation of the memory, 

3d2— their tenets, 4t)2, 468. 

Q 

auarter-master, Highland, 258, 326 
Quern, or hand mill, 313. 
Quivers, how formed, 227. 

R 

Rabbits, 275. 

Rallying shout, its effect, anecdote, 200. 

Ranz des vaches, tune of, its effect, 408. 

Rapparee, his house, 250. 

Raths, 145. 

Rats, unknown in some parts, 275. 

Rawdikes, a race course, 280. 

Kechailach, 314. 

Recitation, now almost unknown, 393, 399, 440. 

Recipes, Celtic, 353— Highland, 358. 

Red shanks, 171. 

Reels, of the Scots, described, 412, 439. 

Regiments, Highland, theirdress, 162 — Royal Scots, 

carried bow and arrows, 223. 
Religion, Druidical, 400, 402 to 464. 
Rents, how paid, 301. 
Residence, places of, their names, 256. 
Rhapsodies, 389. 
Rhapsodists, 397. 
Rhi, a royal title, 133. 
Ilince-fada, an Irish dance, 433. 
Rings, Highlanders set stones in, 378. 
Roasting, manner of, 320. 
Robertsons, of Struan, their force, 77. 
Roses, of Kilravock, their force, iliid. 
Rosses, their force, ibid. — of Balnagowan, their 

force, ibid. 
Rother, river, ancient vessel discovered in, 304. 
Round towers, 205 — opinions concerning, 452. 
Roxburgh, conduct of Highlanders at, 93. 
Royal race, of Picts and Welsh, 130. 
Rulers of the war, 105. 
Running, contentions in, 442. 
Rungmor, a Highland da.nce, 439. 
Ruthven, the rendezvous of the Highlanders after 

CuUoden, 101. 



Sacrifices, human, 465. 

Saddles not in use by Irish or Welsh, 229. 

Sagum, 155, 165, 179. 

St. Andrew's, English archers worsted at, 223. 

Salisbury plain, massacre at, 216 — antiquities on, 
450, 482. 

Salt, superstitions concerning, 328. 

Salute, sword, 212. 

Salute, or failte, 428. 

Saxons, their dress, 167, 183— imitation of Celtic 
manufactures, 157. 

Scilly islands, 40. 

Scotland, its original inhabitants, 46 — formerly 
called Hibernia, 50 — difference of ancient 
inhabitants accounted for, 58 — its former ap- 
pearance, 62 — singular geographical features, 
65,301. 

Scots, 47, 48 to 58 — etymology of, 55, 56 — their 
warlike education, 92^their struggles for lib- 
erty, 100 — law founded chiefly on Celtic usa- 
ges, 143 — abstemious, .324— their cookery, 327 
— music, ode to, 432 — invented a method of 
building, 255 — excel in poetry and music, 
430 — mode of interment, 480— burial places, 
489. 

Sculpture, in Glasgow Museum, 216 — on obelisks, 
492. 

Scythe, a Gallic invention, 310. 

Scythian, anecdote of one, 182. 

Scyths, 20 to 28— their symbol, 196. 

Beaforth, Highlanders, their tartan, 162. 

Seal, eaten bv the Highlanders, 330. 

Seanachadh,'his duty, 385, 386. 

Seantrius, the Highland hornpipe, 440. 



Semnones, their worship, 456. 

Sena, singular priesthood of, 458, 460. 

Serpents' egg, the Druidical badge, 465. 

Services, 147. 

Sets of tartan, 161, 501. 

Sheep, 275, 287 — shearing, ibid. — farming, 288. 

Shepherds, 289. 

Shields, 188 — how used as a signal of war, 104 — 
striking of, 105, 191. 

Ships of the Celts, 361— of the Britons, 362— an- 
cient, discovered, 364 — large one of James 
IV. 307. 

Shirts, 181— regulations of, 183. 

Shoes, of the Highlanders, 172 — buckles, 178. 

Shooting, a favorite diversion, 239, 280. 

Shot pouch, 178. 

Signals of battle, 118. 

Singing, Highland manner of, 408. 

Single stick, a favourite Highland amusement, 440. 

Skean dubh, 229. 

Skelig isle, ruins at, 205. 

Skellater, anecdote of a Highlander at, 218. 

Skins, used as clothing, 154 — exported from Brit- 
ain, 374. 

Skull cap, 176— of the Highlanders, 188. 

Sky, Isle of, ruins in, 258. 

Skythie ; see Scyths. 

Slagan, the war cry, 112. 

Slaves, unknown in the Highlands, 131 — Irish 
trade in, 374. 

Slia-grannus, a place of worship, 455. 

Sliga crechan, 336. 

Slings, 201. 

Snuff, partiality of Scots to, 350 — an ancient man- 
ufacture, 351 — horn described, ibid. 

Soap, a Gallic invention, 80, 370. 

Soldurii, Celtic soldiers, 108, 126. 

Souls, their supposed state, 42, 403. 

Spanish swords preferred by the Highlanders, 210. 

Spear, 205 — how denoting war, 104^— ditto peace, 
110— length of the Scotish, 206. 

Spoil, its division, 105. 

Staff, St. Murran's, 107. 

Stalking deer, 283. 

Standard, battle of, 110. 

Standards, of Fingal, 118— of the British tribes, 
194— of Mac Leod, 195 — of Mac Pherson of 
Cluny, 430. 

Stature, causes affecting, 79. 

Stewarts, of Appin, their force, 77. 

Stirling, celebrated for manufacture of tartan, 104. 

Stockings, 173. 

Stonehenge, temple of, 450. 

Stones, thrown by hand, 200— weapons formed of, 
202 — rude, first symbols of the gods, 449. 

Stranraer, ancient vessel discovered at, 365. 

Strath-Connan Fillan, Society of, 455. 

Strathspey tunes, 412 — dances, 439. 

Suessiones, their cities, 242. 

Suevi, manner of dressing their hair, 84 — of agri- 
culture, 297. 

Sun, worship of, 453. 

Swearing ; see Oaths. 

Swine, 288. 

Sword, 207— of the Britons, 208— basket hilt, 210 
— exercise, 211 — anecdotes of Highland ex- 
pertness in, ibid. — dance, 212 — two-handed, 
213 — of silver, lands held by, 216 — names of, 
241. 

T 

Tabhal, 201. 

Tacksmen, 124. 

Taibhsearachd, or second sight, 461. 

Tail of a chief, 108, 127. 

Tain-bo, a most ancient poem, 389. 

Taini, persons so styled, 133. 

Taixali, their capital, 258. 

Talisker, sword preserved at, 213. 

Tanaist, 108— law of, 131— revenue, 134. 

Taran, the god of thunder, 457. 

Target, Highland, 188, 189— manner of fighting 
with, 190. 

Tartan, its antiquity, 158 — its manufacture, 160 to 
163— of the 42nd, 78th, 79th, 92nd and 93rd 
regiments, 162 — worn by His Majesty and 
Royal Family, 163— by H. R. H. the Duke of 



516 



INDEX. 



Sussex,— 163, 501— table of the various clan 
patterns, 502 — etymology of 164. 

Tartan of the clergy, 507 

Tasgal money, 142. 

Teeth of the Celts, 87. 

Temples, druidical, 450 

Tencteri, tlieir advice, 251 

Tenure by the straw, 135. 

Teut, or Teiitates, 455. 

Teutones, their contempt of death, 478. 

Thane, 133. 

Three, respect for the number, 464 

Thirlage, 313. 

Thracians, where situated, 29. 

Thule, Island of, 41. 

Thighearna, a title of honor, 133 

Timber markets, 379. 

Tin, isles of, 40 — its manufacture, 371. 

Tings, 145. 

Tinning, invented by the Celts, 374. 

Tinwafd of Man, 139, 145. 

Tokens of the kings of Man, ibid. 

Tolmsn, 459. 

Tongue, subterraneous work at, 260. 

Tonnag, a Highland garment, 179. 

Toscheodarach, 133. 

Toshich, a title of honor, 132. 

Towns, Celtic, 241 to 243, 258. 

Tracery, a favorite ornament, 193. 

Triads, 400. 

Tribes, ancient Scotish, 147. 

Tricastines, tlieirorder of battle, 111. 

Triughas, or trius, 170, 174, 175. 

Troddan, castle, 261. 

Tuisto, a god, 19, n. 456. 

Tunic, 166, 178. 

Turf, how cut, 327. 

Turnips, used by the Gauls, 318. 

Tyrebachar, circle at, 144, n. 

U s 

Udal, inheritance, 135. 

Uist, horse races at, 237 

Umbrians, 33. 

Urquhart, fortalice of, 244 — glen, ruins in, 257. 

Utensils, household, 377 — osier, 379. 



VaccEei, their agriculture, 297 
Vegetables, 317 to 319. 



Veneti, their shipping, 364. 

Verse, its importance, 382 — varieties of 400. 

Vervain, its properties, &c. 355. 

Vessel, ancient, discovered at Stranraer, 365 

Vessels, drinking, 348. 

Vitrifications, 246. 

Voice, 88. 

w 

Waking a corpse, 483. 

Wales, its ancient buildings, 257 — the royal palace 
of, 258. 

Wansdike, 122— its design, 450. 

War, customs in, 102 &,c. 

War cries, 198. 

War song, 116. 

Water mill, its invention, 313 

Waulking cloth, 158. 

Weapons, 200— legal, by Welsh law, 209 

Weddings, 474. 

Welsh, their struggles for liberty, 100 — hubbub, 104 
— royal attendants, 127, 337 — their arms, 186 
— their archery, anecdotes, 221 — their mode 
of life, 321— agriculture, 306— temperance, 338 
— system of versification, 398 — military airs, 
430— their weddings, 475— funerals, 483. 

Whales, used as food, 330. 

Wheat, 302. 

Whisky, 346— varieties of, 347. fc 

Wife, Welsh laws respecting the, 149. 

Wilsford, discoveries at, 479. 

Winds reverenced, 458. 

Wine, 347— berry of the Gael, ibid 

Wolf dogs, 273. 

Wolves, 272. 

Women, Gallic, 86— how affected by tanaist law. 
133 — Highland, head dress, 179— occupations, 
322. 

Wood, Its use in architecture, 254, 255w 

Woods of Britain, 63— venerated, 458, 470 

Wool, Celtic, 155. 

Woollen, manufacture, 155, 158. 

Wrestling, 108. 



Yeast, how preserved, 346. 

z 

Zythus, a malt liquor, 344 



INDEX OF NAME S. 



the chariot attack, 235. 

Cairbre Riada, settles in Argyle, 53. 

Caligula, fury of his Celtic guards, 92. 

Cameron, the chief, anecdote of, 82, 141, 324. 

badge of, 197. 

tartan, 502. 

Sir Ewen, killed the last wolf in Sett- 
land, 272. 

Hugh, his great age, 359. 

Camillas repulses the Celts, 22, 90. 

Campbell, Sir Archibald, of Clunes, his followers, 
77. 

of Glenlyon, his brooch, 180. 

badge of, 197. 

war cry, 199. 

tartan, 502. 

John, his bravery, 211. 

pistol maker, 239. 

Alexander, his great age, 360. 

Archibald, of Melfort, 485. 

Caol-mhal, a female name, 87. 

Caracalla, whence derived, 165. 

Caractacus, or Caradoc, his military fame, 102, 110 
— his spoils, 178 — his fortifications, 243. 

Carrick, Earl of, charte-r of, 257. 



Koland de, charter to, 133. 



A 

Abaris, priest of the Ilyperborei, 156. 

Abercrombie tartan, 502. 

Achadh, or Achaiiis, Scots' king, 54, 57. 

Adams, Mr. and family, destroyed by wolves, 273. 

Adcantuan, his followers, 108. 

.\domnan, 143 — his life of Columba, Introd. 

^Miilius, defeats the Gauls, 75. 

Agamemnon, his arms, 19(). 

AJastair, ruadh na cairnach, 303. n. 

Albany, Duke of, his Highlanders, 162. 

Alcuin, Introd. 

Alexander the Great, anecdote of, and the Celts, 98. 

his method of avoiding the 

chariot attack, 235. 
Alexander 1., 169, 229. 
Alexander II., his forces, 76. 
Alfred, his laws, 142, 143 — his songs. 383. 
Ambiorix, his stronghold, 242. 
Anacharsis, the Scyth, 28. 
Anne,Ciueeii, 227. 
Anspacli, Margrave of, 422. 
Aodh, his laws, 143. 
Aonghas a choile, his murder, 427. 
Argachacoxus, or argentocoxus, 153. 
Argyle, Duke of, his followers, 77. 

anecdote of, 211. 

. . defeated in Glenlivat, 213, 415. 

— his barns, 311. 

• his hunting, 281. 

his harper and witch, 415. 

Arianines, his liberality, 331. 

Arnot, David, his archery, 459. 

Arthur, his prelude of the salt, 328. 

Ashburton, Lord, 3G0. 

Assvut, Laird of, 350. 

Athol, Duke of, 145, 281— his hunting, 282— his 

banquet to .'ames V. 341, 342. 
Attila. his bards, 384. 
Aurinia, a German heroine, 115. 

B 

Baillie, Alexander, his archery, 223. 

Baird, Lady, her remarkable cure, 355. 

Balloch, black Donald of the Isles, his piobrachd, 

427. 
Barwick, his defence of gunnery, 224. 
Beaton, Neil, a physician, 358. 
Beli, a construction of roads, 373. 
Belovesus, his expedition, 21. 
Berkeley, Lord, 305. 
Bissel, a pistol maker, 239. 
Boadicea, or Bonduca, her army, 76, 252 — ditto, 

how drawn up, 111 — her defeat, 128 — her 

dress, 156, 166, 178, 179— her influence, 115— 

her death, 478. 
Boroimh, Brian, his diadem, 373 — harp, 416. 
Bothwell, Earl, 2.37. 
Boulle, Marquis de, 239. 
Bourke, war cry of, 200. 
Braidalban, Lord, his gathering, 427. 

tartan, 502. 

Brennus, invades Italy, 22, 89 — his forces, 75— 

his body guards, 107. 
Breusa, William de, 221. 
Brinno, 105. 
Britannia, first mention of, 43 — how represented, 

152, 139— Romana and Barbaria, 49. 
Bruce, King Robert, 136 — his coronation, 139 — 

his brooch, 180 — his badge, 196. 
Brunswick, hereditary prince of, 239. 
Buchanan, badge of, 197. 

war cry, 199. 

tartan, 502. 

Dugald, a bard, 406. 

Kurnet, Sir Robert, of Crathes, 283. 
Butler, war cry of, 199. 

c 

Caddel, Thomns, pistol maker, 239. Dall, Rory, a harper, 417 

OcEsar, his invasion of Britain, 44, 98 — dread of Dalrumpil, Duncan, grant to, 134. 



Cartismandua, a British princess, 133. 

Cassivelaunus, number of his cars, 235 

Casswalon, 38''' 

Cathmor, his shield, 191. 

Ceraint ap Grediawl, 257. 

Chandos, Duke of, purchases Gaelic MSS. 357. 

Charlemagne, his dress, 167, 183 — laws respecting 
archery, 221, 227 — league with, 51. Introd. — 
his collection of songs, 383 — his law concern- 
ing tombstones, 482. 

Charles the Bold, his dress, 167. 

Cliarles Stewart, Prince, 110 — his welcome and 
salute, 428. 

Chevalier, his muster-roll, 78. 

Childeric, King of France, his grave, 480. 

Chisholm, badge of, 197. 

tartan, 502. 

Chonodomarius, his dress, 187. 

Civilis, a German prince, his exploits, 84, 101. 

Clan Ronald, Lord of, his prosnachadh fairge, 365 

Clark, badge of, 198. 

George, anecdote of, 421, 423. 

Kennedy, a piper, 424. 

Claudia Rufina, a British lady, her beauty, 87. 

Clovis, anecdote of, 105. 

Coefi, a Druid, 448. 

Coel, 313. 

Coll ap coll frevvi, 303. 

Colquhon, badge of, 197. 
tartan, 502. 



Columba, his curach, 363 — his altercation with 

the Pictish king, 408. 
Comontoire, a Gallic king, 91. 
Conan, his grave discovered by a bardic song, 395. 
Conceun, 498. 

Conloch, a famous warrior, 207. 
Coote, Sir Eyre, anecdote, 420. 
Correus, his bravery, 96. 
Cormac, Saint, his voyage, 362. 
Cranston, war cry of, 199. 
Cristeed, Sir Richard, his account of the Irish 

kings, 339. 
Cromarty, Lord, 162. 

Cromwell, his opinion of the Scotish soldiers, 324. 
Cronan, a bard, 407. 
Crothar, his hall, 256. 
Cuchullin, or Cuthullin, tradition respecting, 905 

— his chariot, 233. 
Cumberland, Duke of, 239. 
Cummin, badge of, 197. 

tartan, .502. 

Gumming, John Roy, a musician, 412. 

D 



518 



INDEX OF NAMES. 



Dalrymple, Sir John, his opinion of the Highland- 
ers, 101. 

Dalzel, tartan, 50-2 

Darius, his expedition, 27. 

Uarthula, a female name, 97 ^ ,. 

David I. his gardening, 70— judged for the poor, 
144. 

Davidson, badge of, 198. 

Davy, Sir Humphry, on destruction oftorests,7U. 

Dempster, George, letter on vitrification, 247. 

Derby, Earl of, 135. 

Desmond, Earl of, attachment of his followers, 107. 

his rent, 131. 

war cry, 200. 

Divitiacus, a Celtic cliief, 44. 

Donald of the Isles, at siege of Roxburgh, 94. 

order of battle at Harlaw, 111. 

his bards, 117, 392— his form of barter, 

140. 

Donn, John, a bard, lament for, 428 

Robert, a bard, 406. 

Douglas, Earl, 172. 

war cry of, 198. 

tartan, 502. 

Drummond, badge of, 197. 

tartan, 502. 

H. Home, 286. 

Dumnorix, his horsemen, 281. 

Dunbar, 259. 

Dunwallo, an agriculturist, 307. 

Dyonisius, his Gallic mercenaries, anecdotes of, 
92, 323. 

E 

Edgar, Atheling, his alliance with Scotland, 61. 

Edi, laws of, 143. 

Edward I. his devastation of Scotland, 68, 71. 

cairies off the " fatal stone," 138. 

Elder, badge of, 198. 

Elizabeth, warrant of, in favor of archery, 223. 

Eltud, an agriculturist, 295, 308. 

Erach, his adventure, 461. 

Erectlieus, 29. 

Errol, Ear! of, fights at Glenlivat, 213. 

Etas, killed in a tumult, 103. 

Ethfin, the laws of, 143. 

Eumolpus, his treaty with Erectheus, 29. 

F 

Farquharson, of Invercauld, his opinion of the fir- 
tree, 67. 

badge of, 198. 

war cry, 199 

tartan, 502. 



— Mr. his Gaelic MSS. 



Ferrara, Andrea, celebrated sword maker, 210. 

Ferdinand, Prince of Brunswick, 239. 

Fergus Mac Eire, King of Argyle, 54. 

Ferguson, badge of, 197. 

tartan, 503. 

Ferus, his belt, 219. , ^ ^ _^ 

Fife, Earl of, bis armory, 213— his deer forest, 274. 

Fin Mac Coul, his dress, 157. 

Finan, Bishop of Lindisfarne, his manner of build- 
ing, 255. ^ n I,- 

Fingal, his dogs, 278— his hunters, 279— his so- 
norous voice, 87-his shield, 192— his stand- 
ard, 194— his sword, 241— his medical cup, 
353— his remark on drinking, 350. 

Finlay, 471. 

Fitz Maurice, war cry of, 199. 

Flanders, Count of, war cry, 199. 

Fleming, war cry of, 200 

Fletcher, John, his singular death, 486 

Peter, his funeral, 486. 

Forbes, badge of, 197. 

war cry, 199. 

tartan, 503. 

Sir Charles, curious sword, Introd. 

of Culloden, his followers, 77. 

his hospitality, 336. 

of Brux, anecdote of, 217. 

Forgeson, James, his mission, 222. 

Fraoch, his sword, 209. 

Fraser, badge of, 197. 

war cry, 199. 

tartan, 503. 

Mrs. of Culbokie, her Gaelic MSS. 393 



G 

Gardyn, Beatrix, her harp, 415. 
Gairden, Peter, anecdote, 209— his great age, 359 
Galba, a Celtic prince, 105. 
Galgacus, a Caledonian prince, 100 
Gallus, killed in a tumult, 103. 
Gaul, his war song, 116 — his banner, 195— hii 
war cry, 200. 

a physician, 353. 

Geraldine, Lord Thomas, incited to rebellion by a 

bardic song, 384. 
Gibbon, his oi)inion of Ossian's poems, 389. 
Gildas, Albanius, his learning, 143. 
Gilderoy, a cearnach, 108. 
Gillescop, his ravages, 255. 
Gillespie, More, his tenure, 216. 
Gillo, Tancoulard Mac Tuathal, Gaelic MS. of, 92. n. 
Gordon, Duke of, his woods, 67 — his followers, 77 
— anecdote of, 426. 

badge of, 197— war cry, 198. 

tartan, 503. 

Lord Lewis, his troops, anecdotes of, 112 

of Bucky, his sword, 210. 

Cuthbert, his dyestuffs, 161, 380 

■ Alexander, a wizard, 303. n. 



Graham, badge of, 197. 

tartan, 503. 

Grant, badge of, 197. 

war cry, 199. 

tartan, 503. 

Laird of, his woods, 67. 

of Balindalish, his followers, 7" 

John, of Freuchie, charter to, 244. 

his great age, 360. 



Gregory the Great, his death, 248. 

Gryfyth ap Cynan, a Welsh translator, 130— regu- 
lates the bards, 388 — introduced Irish music 
into Wales, 411, 414. 

Gunn, badge of, 197. 

tartan, 503. 

Gwendollen, a Caledonian Druid, 470. 

H 

Halkston, of Rathillet, anecdote, 324. 

Hamilton, Duke of, lament for, 4291 

Hannibal, his usage of the Celts, 88, 93— deference 

to, 88 — dissolution of rocks, 469. 
Hay, badge of, 197. 

tartan, 503. 

Henry II., his observation respecting the Welsh, 

100 — entertainment at Dublin, 255. 
Hepburn, war cry of, 199. 
Herod, his Celtic guards, 92. 
Hertlia, her worship, 107. 
Hiffernan, war cry of, 201. 
Hill, a translator of Ossian's poems, 391. 
Hoath, Lord, his accident, 475. 
Howard, Lord, his company defeated, 222. 
Hungus, a Pictish king, 57. 
Huntly, Earl of, defeats Earl of Argyle, 213— hunU 

with the king, 281. 
Hussey, war cry of, 200. 
Hvvyeil, Prince, his invocation, 469. 

I 

Ida, King of Northumberland, invades Scotland, 

60. 
Innes, Margaret, her great age, 359. 
Irvine, of Drum, his arms, 196. 

J 

James I., an excellent harper, 414. 
James III., his use of tartan, 1.59. 
James. IV., his immense ship, 367. 
James v., his hunting, 281. 

James VII., his reception in Ireland, 438— hia sa- 
lute, 427. 
Jean Petit, a pistol maker, 239. 
John, Pope, letter from the Scots to, 100. 

Bishop of Glasgow, disbursement for tartaa, 

159. 
Johnstone, war cry of, 199. 
Josephus, his opinion of the Celts, 91. 

K 

Kennedy, James, charter to, 133. 
Kerry, knight of, war cry, 200. 



INDEX OF NAMES. 



519 



Kiannan, St. his domHag, 265. 
Kildare, Earls of, war cry, 199. 
King, Mr., his opinions respecting architecture, 
249 



Lachlanson, John, grant of, 134. 
Lamont, badge of, 197. 

— . tartan, SOU. 

■ Laird of, his harp, 415, 416. 



— of Covval, anecdote, 333. 



Leeth, Robert, his survey of Ireland, 362. 

Leinster, Duke of, motto, 199. 

Leitch, Mr., observations on the Highlands, 69. 

Lenogh, Tirlogh, Lord of Ulster, 174. 

Lennox, Duke of, his war cry, 198. 

Loam, a king of Argyle, 54. 

Logan, badge of, 197. 

war cry, 503. 

tartan, 503. 

Loundres, Archbishop, extinguishes the sacred 
fire, 454. 

Lovat, Lord, his followers, 77— his purse, 177 — 
his pipe-march, 431— his hospitality, 337— ac- 
cused of raptus, 475. 

LucuUus brought cherry trees to Italy, 69 

Lumsden, of Clowach, his rent, 301. 

Luernius, his profusion, 331. 

Luno, son of Leven, description of, 372. 

Lycurgus, his observation on long hair, 84 

M 

Mac Ailean Oig, Raonuil, 42&— lament for, 429. 
Mac Alastair, badge of. 197— tartan, 504. 
Mac Allisdrum, his march, 480 
Mac Alpin, 392. 

Kenneth, 57, 39, 143. 

Mac Aoidh, or Mac Kay, badge of, 197— tartan, 405. 

Mac Aongis, Alastair, 405. 

Mac Art, Cormac, 313. 

Mac Aulay, badge of, 197 — tartan, 504. 

Mac Bane, Gillies, his heroism, 95. 

Mac Bean, badge of, 198. 

John, 218. 

Mac Beth, Fergus, 357. 
Mac Carthy, war cry of, 199. 
Mac Codrum, anecdote of, 390, 392. 
Mac Connal, Angus, 105. 
Mac Grain, Gilonr, his great age, 359. 
Mac Donald, badge of, 197 — war cry, 199 — tartan, 
504. 

Sir, Alexai.der, VO. 

o'"the Isles, 110. 

r,f Barisdale, 88. 108. 

of Boisdale, his salute, 428. 

of Clan Rannald, 9.^, n. 

of Keppoch, anecdotes, 82, 110, 140, 

303. n. 

of Killepheder, 390, 392. 

Alexander, 117, 179, 430, 430. 

Sir, 70, 



Donald, Sir, of Slate, 194. 
• of Aberarder, 333. 



Flora, her age, 359. 

Captain, anecdote of, 211. 

Do. of Moy, 333. 

Do. John, 391. 

John, his age, 360. 

John Breac, 96. 

John Lorn, 28, 405. 

Murdoch, Clarsair, 417. 

Shelah, 404. 

Mac Donell, 315. 

war cry of, 199. n. 

tartan, 504. 

piobrachd, 427. 

the Irish piper, 424. 

Peter, 393. 

Mac Dougal, Allan, 270. 

of Lorn, 180. 

badge of, 197. 

tartan, 504. 

Mac Druivel, his bratach, 195. 
Mac Dutr, 132— badge of, 198— tartan, 504. 
Mac Dutfaidh, ensign staff, 195. 
Mac Farlane, badge of, 197 — war cry, 199 — tartan. 
504. 



Mac Gilli Riabhach, 392. 

Mac Gillivray, badge of, I'J'?— tartan, 504. 

Mac Gillpatrick, war cry, 200. 

Mac Glassan, his dancing, 439. 

Mac Gregor, badge of, 197-warcry, l!19-tartan,505 

of GlenstriE, 333. 

Captain, 207 

John, 405. 

John Dubh Gear, 405 

Rob Roy, 108. 



Mac Guire, 147. 
Mac Hardy, Mrs. 213. 
Mac Intosh, badge of, 198 

war cry, 199. 

tartan, 505. 

lament, 428. 

defeated by the Munros, 143. 

by Keppoch, 140. 



James, Anecdote, 417 

Sir Eneas, funeral of, 488. 

Mac Intyre, Duncan, a bard, 395, 406. 
- John, a piper, 428. 



Mac Kav, charter to, 140. 

piper to H. R. H. the Duke of Sussex, 423 

George, a piper, 434. 



Mac Kennedy, John, charter to, 133. 
Mac Kenzie, badge of, 197 — war cry, 199. 

tartan, 505. 

Earl of Cromarty, 162. 

Kenneth, a bard, 406. 

Lord Seaforth, lo2. 

Roderick, his heroism, 126. 



Mac Kinnon,badge of, 197— tartan, 505. 
Mac Lachlan, badge of, 197. 

tartan, 505 

salute, 428. 

Ewen, 406. 



Mac Lean, badge of, 197— tartan, 505. 

Laird of. 111. 

of Coll, 431, 471. 

Allan na sohp, 431. 

John Garbh, of Coll, 417. 



Mac Lennan, 220. 
MacLeod, badge of, 197— tartan, 505— salute and 
lament, 428. 

his ensign, 195. 

Lord, 162. 

Donald, anecdotes, 211. 

Rev. 214, 390. 



Mary, a bard, 403, 404. 
• Sir 5forman, deed of. 125. n 



Mac Mhuireach, Lachlan, 117 
Niel,391,332. 



Mac Milcon, Bruidhi, 470. 

Mac Murrogh, his horse, 229. 

Mac Nab, badge of, 197— tartan, 505 

burial place, 489. 

Mac Naughtan, badge of, 197— tartan, 505 
Mac Nessa, Concovar, king of Ulster, 385. 
Mac Nicol, Doncha Itioch, 391. 
Mac Niel, badge of, 197— tartan, 505. 

his castle, 232. 

James, 133. 

■- Lachlan, 336. 

■- Niel, 133 



Mac Pherson, badge of, 198— war cry, 199— gath 
ering, 427 — tartan, 506. 

of Cluny, 212, 2;i9. 

his chanter, 436. 

his tartan, 506. 



. of Crathy, 213. 

■ Alexander the revengeful, 259. 

■ Donald, his sword, 213. 
letter on clanship, Intrei 



■ Ewen, anecdote, 390. 

■ James, 220. 

his armor, 212. 

his lament, 431. 

- Malcolm, a bard, 391, 393. 

■ of Strathmasie, 405. 



Mac auarie, badge of, 197— tartan, 506 
Mac Q,ueen, badge of, 198. 
Mac Rimmon, anecdote, 423. 

Captain, 425. 

Mac Ronald, Galium garbh, 366. 
Mac Ruari, Allen, .395. 
Mac Svvein, war cry of, 200. 



52a 



INDEX OF NAMES. 



Mac Tyre, Paul, his Dan, 247. 
Mac Varas, 367. 
Malcolm, 123. 

Ceanmore, 61. 

Malmutius, a legislator, 295. 

M-innus, the parent god of the Germans, 30. n. 

jjianos, a Caledonian, 106. 

Mar, Earl of, his targe, 191. 

his gun, 238. 

anecdote, 211. 

Margaret, Ciueen of Scotland, 61. 

Blarius defeats the Celts, 90. 

Mark, Provost of Banff", 212. 

Marriage ceremonies, 472. 

Mary, Uueen, her hunting, 28.3— her harp, 415, 445. 

the virgin, partial to the bagpipes, 419. 

Maud, Ciueen of Connaught, her procession, 373. 

Menander, a Scyth, 29. n. 

Menelaus, his arms, 196. 

Menzies, badge of, 198— tartan, 506. 

Sir Thomas, his pearl, 378. 

Mercers, their war cry, 199. 

Merddyn, a Caledonian Druid, 470. 

Meyriek, Dr., his armory, 204. 

Moelilius, a legislator, 29.5. 

Moina, 179. 

Molloy, Dr., hospitality of his ancestor, 336 

Montgomery, Arnulph de, 55. 

Montrose, Duke of, obtains repeal of law against 

Highland dress, 184. 
Morddal Gwr Gweilgi, 257. 
Morrison, Roderick, a harper, 417. 
Munich, Count, 240. 
Munro, badge of, 198— war cry, 199— tartan, 506. 

of Culcairn, anecdote, 126. 

John, defeats Mac Intoshes, 143. 

Murdoch, John, 239. 

Murray, badge of, 198— tartan, 506. 

Lord, 103, 162. 

Regent, his portrait, 173. 

bonnie Earl of, 210. 

Elizabeth, her longevity, 359. 

N 

Nechtan, his literary correspondence with Ceol- 

frid, Tntrod. 
Nehelania, a Celtic deity, 457. 
Nelan, an Irish bard, anecdote, 384. 
Nennius, his history, Introd. 
Nicholas, his letter to the Bishop of St. Andrews, 

378. 
Nigel, Earl of Carrick, 133. 

o 

O'Brian, war cry of, 199. 
of Thomond, 136. 

Murcertach, 146. 

Muirough, his execution, 124. 

his horse, 229. 

O'Carrol, war cry of, 200. 

O'Dalv, Doncha, a bard, 407. 

O'Duff, Brian, his lament, 429. 

O'Kane, a harper, 415, 417. 

Ogilvie, badge of, 198— tartan, 506. 

Oliphant, badge of, 198. 

O'Neal, war cry of, 199. • 

his oath, 107. 

Sir Arthur, plundered, 294 

solicits aid to expel Scots, 303. 

hospitality, 336. 

his sitting in state, 376. 

Orgetorix, 133. 
Oscar, 188, 189. 
Ossian, his poems, vindicated, 388, et seq. 

known to the Lowlanders, 390. 

performed in dramas, 399. 

his grave, 395. 

O'Sullivan, war cry of, 200. 
Oswy, King of Northumberland, 60. 

P 

Palladius, first bishop of the Scots, 51. 
Patrick, St., his disp\ite with Ossian, 470. 
Perth, Highlanders of, their numbers, T7. 
Polybius, his observation on the Gallic wars, 91. 
Porevith, god of spoil, 207. 
Ptolemy, overthrown by the Celts, 92. 
Pytheas, the discoverer of Britain, 11. 



R 

Ramsay, Alexander, 259. 

Rea, Lord, 140. 

Rederch, king of Strathelyde, 284, 377 

Reuthamor, 179. 

Robertson, badge of, 198^tartan, 506 

of Lude, anecdote of, 211. 

harps of, 416, 417. 



Captain, 212. 



Roderick, last king of Ireland, 146. 
Rose, badge of, 198— tartan, 507. 

of Kilravock, his followers, 77. 

Ross, badge of, 197— tartan, 507. 

William, a bard, 406. 

Roy, Rob, his funeral, 488— his son hanged for 

abduction, 475. 
Ruthven, presumed origin of the name, Introd. 

s 

Samuel, a piper, lament for, 428 
"Sam, big," 81. 

Scot, of Buccleuch, war cry of, 199. 
Scott, provost of Banff, 212. 

Sir Walter, 212, 213. Introd. 

Michael, a wizard, 303. n. 

Scotland, kings of, war cry of, 199. 

Seaforth, Lord, his followers, 77— his regiment, 

162. 
Shaw, badge of, 198. 

James, a bard, 471. 

Shiel, pistol maker, 239. 

Sinclair, badge of, 197 — tartan, 507. 

Sigovesus, a Celtic chief, ^2. 

Sithama, a Druid, his speech, 88, n. 

Smyth, Sir John, 223. 

Stanley, Sir John, his duties as king of Man, 145 

Stewart, badge of, 198— tartan, 507. 

General, on the origin of clanship, 121. 

Mary, 133. 

John Roy, a bard, 405. 

Alexander & Donald, their poems, 406. 



Steuart, in Avenside, anecdote of, 218 — of Appin 

his followers, 77. 
Stone, Jerome, a translator of Ossian 's poems, 391. 
Stratherne, Earl of, anecdote of, 186. 
Sussex, H. R. H. the Duke of, his tartan, 163, 501 
Sutherland, badge of, 198 — tartan, 507. 
Lord, his troops, 77. 



Tabourner, Stephen, his archery, 223. 

Talliesin, a Welsh bard, 468— his grave, 482. 

Taylor, his description of a Highland hunting, 281 

Thompson, John, 223. 

Titus, his opinion of the Germans, 91. 

Turner, John, 212 — his poems, 413. 

Tyrconnel, his regiments, 81. 

Tyrone, his troops, 105, 111 — plundered, 294. 

TyrtEus, effect of his songs, 384. 

u 

Umad, his lamentation, 278. 
Urguist, a Pictish princess, 57. 
Urquhart, badge of, 198- tartan, 507. 

V 

Veleda, a heroine, 115, 133 — her habitation, 265. 
Vercingetorix, a Gallic chief, 110. 
Veremundus, an ancient historian, Introd. 
Vergasilanus, ditto, 194. 
Viriathus, curious account of, 109, 

w 

W^ade, General, his list of the Highland forces, 
77_receives the arms of the Highlanders, 240 
Wallace, 139, 176,210— portrait, 159. 
Wedderburn, John, his archery, 223. 
Wemys, David, of that ilk, his archery, ibid. 
We-:t, Sir Benjamin, his opinion of tartan, 161, 165 
William the Lion, his portrait, 1.59. 
Williams, his notice of vitrifications, 246. 



York, Duke of, his, 

Zamalxis, a learned Scyth, 29, n 



Own Highlanders," 1 



MC- 



O,. 



y^ 



